Scars Fade
by Kanemoshi
Summary: As a shinobi, Kakashi is bound by an oath to protect Konoha, but when he takes that oath too far and hurts the one person he wants most to protect, he discovers that even the kindest person can have a dark side Kakashi/Iruka Sequel to Underneath the Scars
1. A New Beginning With Old Memories

Authoress: I'm on a roll today, so I decided to start a whole new chapter/story…doubt I'll finish it tonight, but, hey, a girl can try, ne? Alright, for those of you who may have just thought this story sounded interesting, 'Scars Fade' is **PART TWO** to a story I've been working on for some time – 'Underneath the Scars' – which you would need to read in order to understand some aspects of this plotline. Since the fic was turning into a looooong story, I decided to split the story into two parts, so here I am with the second half (and hopefully, it'll be half and not the second of a trilogy or, worse, an outright saga…-.-;;) to the much-loved story of Kakashi being (as usual – in my fics, at least) an idiot and Iruka being a bit naïve…

Disclaimer: …if I owned Naruto would I need to put this disclaimer in every time? /sniffles/

**Prologue**

Kakashi let out a sigh as he watched his charge meditate. The teen's red hair was the only thing he could see from this distance, his pale skin and equally pale clothing blending into the sand around him, but the jounin knew better than to get any closer, lest the recently-elected Kazekage detect his presence. Gaara had called Kakashi his 'babysitter' more than once and knowing that the jounin was watching over him constantly annoyed the teen quite a bit – and an angry Gaara, Kakashi quickly learned, was a frightening (and sometimes painful) thing. He bit back a chuckle, remembering the last time the teen had turned on him and caught him in a sand trap. If it hadn't been for the humanity everyone was trying to beat into his head, Gaara might have actually succeeded in killing him. Instead, however, Gaara controlled his bloodthirsty tendencies and eventually released his hold on the jounin.

Rubbing his shoulder, which still ached from that particular encounter, Kakashi studied the teen's figure. In the past few months, Gaara had lost a bit of weight, but everyone assumed it to be caused by the stress that went along with the teen's position. Only Kakashi and Gaara's siblings knew the real reason – he was trying to force himself to eat normal, _human_ food. No longer did Gaara feed the demon inside him with helpless people or whatever animals he could find. Gaara had actually confided in him once, saying that he'd rather starve both himself and the demon he contained than kill another creature so savagely. Smiling at the noticeable change being Kazekage brought about in the redhead, Kakashi recalled his own teenage years. He knew he wouldn't have had the strength – or the willpower – Gaara had shown thus far at the boy's age. He probably would have slaughtered a few of Gaara's more annoying advisors if he had been in Gaara's place.

Sighing again as the old pang of guilt swept over him, Kakashi looked away from the teen. At times like this, Kakashi couldn't help but see himself in the young redhead. Though Gaara didn't choose to be the pariah some still viewed him as, people tended to stay away from him. Even will all the changes he was making in both the village and himself, people still mistrusted their new leader. You could see it in their lowered gaze as their Kazekage walked by, flanked by bodyguards, advisors, and other people Gaara had called 'unnecessary lumps of flesh' more than once. Kakashi knew Gaara could feel their barely contained hatred and distrust, but the boy did his best to not show the hurt he obviously felt. He never said out loud why he ran away to the desert on nights like this, but most of those visits happened whenever something happened in the village or when someone – on accident – openly showed their anger towards the boy. Not only was Gaara a demon container, and thus evil, in most minds, but he was just a child and would certainly be a puppet to his advisors. Kakashi bit back a chuckle. Anyone who knew Gaara knew that the idea of him being a figurehead was impossible. Since his inauguration, Gaara had forced his advisors to tutor him in their areas of expertise so that he would be able to make important decisions on his own. Sliding off his perch on a boulder, Kakashi slowly approached the teen who had become an adult seemingly overnight. As he made sure that his chakra wasn't cloaked at all - something that would put Gaara on edge - Kakashi walked towards the young man and, once he was close enough to make out all the teen's features, sat down in the sand, which was still warm despite the drop in temperature that came with the fall of night.

At this close of a distance, Kakashi could see the stress lines across the teen's face that had been deepening since Gaara was named Kazekage. Even with his eyes closed, Gaara seemed to be looking for something. Whatever it was, Kakashi knew it was inside the boy – most likely having something to do with the demon he was trying to control. The frightening, demonic creature that Gaara was mere months ago was gone, replaced by a calm, quiet teen who wanted nothing more than to protect his village. At the chuunin exams, Gaara looked like the pre-teen he was, but now his responsibilities were weighing on him to the point of having physical affects. If it was possible, he looked older than his two siblings by several years. Though his body was still small, his eyes revealed what Kakashi had heard people call an 'old soul.' The boy's haunting green eyes seemed to be ancient, but at the same time terribly immature, as he looked to the jounin for advice on whatever was bothering him. The first time Gaara came to him, it was to ask about 'certain feelings' that he said he would rather not discuss with his siblings. Kakashi smiled at the memory of Gaara blushing as he admitted his puppy love towards a certain Hyuuga Branch Family member that he had only seen at the chuunin exams. After that particular conversation, Gaara knew Kakashi wouldn't laugh at him (though it took every fiber of Kakashi's being not to squeal when Gaara came to him with his crush) if he needed someone to simply talk to.

After a few minutes of sitting near the boy, Kakashi coughed in order to get Gaara's attention. The teen opened one eye and focused his gaze on the jounin. "You should be sleeping, Kakashi-san," Gaara said softly as he opened his other sea-green eye. Hearing the disapproving tone in the boy's voice, Kakashi looked up at the sky and was surprised to see that the soft pinks of dawn were starting to peak out from over the horizon. It wasn't often that he sat up all night, watching the teen, but there were some nights that he couldn't sleep and watching the insomniac somehow settled his own nerves.

"Maa…you should stay in the palace where your bodyguards can protect you," Kakashi pointed out as he ran his fingers through the sand by his leg. Before coming to Suna, Kakashi always thought of sand as just bothersome in that, despite one's best efforts, it got _everywhere_. Now, however, he found the warm gravel soothing, whether he played with it in his hands or laid back in it to rest in the warmth of the sun.

"Kakashi-san…you've been here six months, but you've never requested a leave to return to Konoha…why?" Gaara asked as he eyed the jounin curiously. The teen had received a letter from Tsunade during the night, which was why he had come out to the desert to find a place to think. The Hokage had told him about an upcoming jounin test that she would appreciate his presence at. At first, Gaara wondered why the woman would like to have the leader of another village come watch how they chose their jounin, but it only took a few minutes of thinking to realize the reason had been watching him for the past few hours. The jounin sitting now sitting in front of him was the reason for Tsunade's invitation – she wanted Gaara to come to Konoha so Kakashi, as one of his bodyguards, would have to follow him. Gaara studied the jounin for a moment, wondering what it would be like to live away from his own village for such an extended period of time. Though, at times, he couldn't stand his siblings, he knew he would begin missing their presence after a few weeks of living in a strange place. Kakashi, too, showed that his new life in Suna was taking a toll on him. In the months that Kakashi had been in the desert, the jounin, much like the redhead, had changed. His once deathly-pale skin had been bronzed by his days of walking with Gaara through the desert and his eye no longer held that painful sadness that he had arrived with. Those changes weren't bad in Gaara's mind, but it was the other changes in Kakashi that had begun to worry him as of late. The jounin, like Gaara, was becoming thinner despite Temari's best efforts to stuff the poor jounin. Instead of losing baby fat like the Kazekage, Kakashi was losing the muscle mass that had once defined him as one of Konoha's most powerful shinobi. Gaara wasn't one to generalize things, but he couldn't think of any other way to describe Kakashi except that he was wasting away.

"I made a promise to stay until Suna was stable, Gaara-sama," Kakashi replied as he looked down at his hands. Studying the sand around him, Kakashi recalled Tsunade's request – which was more of a demand, which he was only too happy to go along with. _I just had to leave…_Kakashi thought to himself as he looked back up at the silent teen. The look in Gaara's eyes reminded him of a certain blonde when he had that concerned expression on his face. Few people knew Gaara could even feel concern, but Kakashi knew that the teen was, deep down, a worry-wart. Thinking about that blue-eyed idiot made Kakashi's chest ache in a way he thought he would never feel again. It had been a full six months since he had heard anything about the teen and his sannin/novelist sensei. Kakashi took a deep breath when he reminded himself it would be at least another two years before Naruto and Jiraiya even thought about returning home. Months ago, when that brat and Sasuke were still living in Konoha, he never thought he could miss the two teens, but since leaving Konoha, he had become increasingly aware of characteristics in others that reminded him of those two, along with their pink-haired teammate.

"We are more stable than we have been in years," Gaara pointed out knowingly. He had received a letter from Tsunade shortly after Kakashi had arrived, announcing his position as a diplomat. She had outlined her reasons behind sending the jounin, but had withheld some things. Gaara studied the man, trying to figure out what Kakashi could have done to the man he loved in order to destroy their relationship so much that he had to go to another whole hidden village in order to escape his own feelings. Tsunade had also written that, though Kakashi was obviously pained by what he had done, his lover had to have his mind erased of any memory of their relationship in order to cope with Kakashi's actions. Gaara knew that, at times, he could be positively evil, but he couldn't imagine harming either of his siblings or those who meant anything to him – especially as badly as Kakashi had hurt his lover. "I am leaving for Konoha in a month. I have been invited to watch the jounin exams and I think it would be a good time for you to go home and rest for a little while."

Gaara was surprised when he saw the pain (and fear?) flash through the jounin's visible eye at the mention of going to Konoha. "I-I can't…" Kakashi replied quietly. "I'll stay in Suna and make sure the council follows your orders while you are gone…"

"Oh, no…Tsunade has requested your presence back in Konoha. She said something about needing a jounin tester for the exam…" Gaara lied seamlessly, inwardly smirking when he remembered he had actually volunteered Kakashi for the job. He hadn't even been interested in going to the testing itself until he recalled the rumor that Kakashi's ex-lover was going to be in it – which was another reason he, without running his idea by Tsunade, entered Kakashi in as a proctor. He didn't have to speak it over with the Hokage to know she agreed that it was about time Kakashi started to mend things with his lover.

"I…I can't go…" Kakashi admitted as he looked up at the Kazekage. _**He **__will be in Konoha…I…I don't think I'm ready to see him yet…_Kakashi thought while simultaneously berating himself for being such a coward. "There are reasons you're too young to understand…I just can't go back…"

"If you're talking about your boyfriend, I already know," Gaara stated calmly, getting a sense of satisfaction when he saw the amazement and embarrassment in Kakashi's face. "Tsunade informed me when you first came here…it is about time you two discuss things like adults…"

"You knew this whole time?" Kakashi whispered, watching as the boy nodded his head. _And he still treated me like a normal person? I betrayed __**him**__ and hurt him in the worst of ways…how could anyone forgive me for doing something like that?_ Kakashi thought to himself as he looked down at his hands – hands that had brought such pain to others. "I can't…he won't understand…"

"Do you love him, Kakashi?" Gaara asked, his voice softer than Kakashi had ever heard it before. In response, the jounin turned his head and started to get up; his body language screamed that Gaara had gone too far with his questions and crossed an invisible boundary. Before Kakashi had the chance to escape, Gaara quickly made a hand out of sand and used it to grab the jounin's arm. Kakashi tried to pull his arm away, but found himself being dragged closer to Gaara as the teen stood up to his full height, just barely reaching the jounin's chest. Kakashi was about to demand to be let go, but froze when Gaara brought a hand to touch his arm. With a strength that didn't seem possible given his small form, the Kazekage grabbed the loose-fitting uniform Kakashi had become attached to since coming to Suna and wrenched it away from the silver-haired man. Kakashi tried to grab for his robes as they began to slide off his shoulders, but discovered that Gaara had created another hand out of sand and had pinned him without the jounin even noticing. The boy had obviously learned a great deal about stealth from his daily lessons with Kakashi.

As the material fell to the ground, Gaara took a step back and studied the near-nude shinobi in front of him. He had to suck in a breath of air when he got a good look at the man. Though it was obvious Kakashi was losing weight, Gaara hadn't believed it to be so serious. Each of the jounin's ribs were visible, his collar bones jutting out more than they should on a healthy person and even his arms and legs revealed how bad his condition was becoming. Looking closely at the jounin's arms, Gaara saw something that he immediately regretted not noticing sooner. Using his sand, Gaara forced Kakashi to turn his arms outward so the teen could see the insides of his forearms. The teen traced the darker of the horizontal marks, his eyes taking in the sheer number and varying shades of the scars.

"Is _this_ what you want, Kakashi-san?" Gaara asked quietly as he touched the sole mark that was the most noticeable of all because of its scarlet color. He gestured towards the rest of Kakashi's body as he slowly released the jounin. Kakashi immediately dropped to the ground to pick up his uniform, but hesitated to put it back on. Instead, as he stood back up, the jounin looked at the young man in front of him. "You're stronger than this…" Gaara took a step away from Kakashi, but kept his eyes trained on Kakashi's masked face. "You are released from your diplomatic duties for a month…take this time to think about things and, when you return, I expect to see you ready to return to Konoha and healthy enough to participate in the jounin exams." Gaara didn't have to clearly state that he was demanding this of Kakashi – his tone was enough for the jounin to understand his meaning.

"Hai, Kazekage-sama," Kakashi replied, catching the teen's wince at his words. He hadn't called Gaara by his title since he had arrived months ago and his return to that name was an obvious statement that Gaara had abused his power as Kakashi's boss with his command.

"Kankuro, Temari, and the rest of my bodyguards will be at your disposal to train with, if you want," Gaara said softly, having to remind himself that this was for Kakashi's own good. The jounin couldn't just come to Suna and waste away to nothing…Gaara wouldn't give up on his favorite guard that easily. "I will also be honored to try my hand against the infamous Copy Cat Nin…"

"As you wish, Kazekage-sama," Kakashi answered and took his leave with a quick bow. Gaara watched as the jounin stalked off, his posture revealing the anger the man contained. _Good…he's finally showing some emotion again…_Gaara thought to himself, hoping that Kakashi might return to his old self if he was pushed into returning to his old life as one of the greatest shinobi Konoha had ever produced.

--

Iruka found himself panting for breath as Gai let out a cry of victory. The call was a little premature, Iruka knew, since the figure Gai was currently pummeling wasn't the chuunin. He leaned back against a tree, keeping all his chakra focused on holding his doppelganger despite Gai's powerful attack. It took all the energy and concentration he could muster to just keep his double from disappearing from the punches that would have left any normal person with broken bones. _If that really was me, he could have killed me…_Iruka thought to himself with a chuckle. Gai _had_ to have known he was no longer fighting the brunette if he had let loose to such an extent. Then again, as of late, Gai had become increasingly energetic when sparring with the chuunin in some kind of attempt to prove he was still youthful. When the jounin finally finished his futile attack and jumped back, he began strutting back and forth proudly as he waited for Iruka's double to get back up. When the doppelganger disappeared with a splash of water, Gai squeaked and shot back to where his enemy had just laid, searching for the chuunin in the muddy puddle that still held the shape of a body.

"Gai-sensei…over here," Iruka called out, waving at the man as soon as Gai caught sight of him. Smiling sheepishly, Gai walked over to him. For a moment, Iruka glared at him, wondering how it was Gai wasn't out of breath after that display of power. Even with all of Mizutamari Mari's help, Iruka found himself lacking enough chakra to completely control his newest, and by far most difficult, jutsu. He looked down at his hands, which were shaking with exertion. This time he had been able to hold the jutsu for several minutes, which was his longest yet. But for the jutsu to be worth even using, Iruka knew he had to be able to hold it with ease for a long period of time. The skill's entire purpose was to give him – or someone else – time enough to catch their breath or even escape and a few minutes' head start wouldn't be enough.

"Iruka…that was such a youthful switch!! When?" Gai asked as he jogged the last few steps towards the chuunin. Iruka chuckled at Gai's question while inwardly wondering if all jounin thought so little of chakra that they didn't take the time to notice even the smallest changes in it.

"Never…I didn't fight at all," Iruka admitted with a smile as he showed the elite jounin his unmarred hands, revealing that he was speaking the truth. If he had actually fought with Gai, he would have the bruised knuckles and scrapes to prove it. The jounin whistled then outright laughed at his mistake. "Was it really that unnoticeable?" he asked, curious to know how good his jutsu was from a jounin's perspective.

"I thought I was youthfully fighting a spirited person like yourself, Iruka…I don't think anyone could tell the difference…not even Kakashi," Gai said with a chuckle. Iruka blinked at the mention of the jounin who had been in Suna for half a year. Despite the great feats the man was performing over in Suna as he helped their new Kazekage rebuild the once crumbling hidden village, hardly anyone spoke of him. Shaking the feeling that everyone was doing so purposely, Iruka faked a smile, hoping that the jounin wouldn't sense the unease the chuunin was starting to feel. _Why would people act like Hatake-san didn't exist?_ _Not even his best friend talks about him anymore. _He wondered, a part of him becoming acutely aware of the jounin in front of him. Gai wasn't acting unusual – well, any different than normal – but there was something in the Green Beast's eyes that caught Iruka's attention. Something in those strange-looking orbs told Iruka Gai hadn't meant to mention Kakashi and had just realized his mistake.

Iruka bit back the question he was dying to ask – was Kakashi the person Mizutamari Mari had wiped from his mind? He knew that Gai – and anyone else he asked – would lie if he was right. Iruka also knew better than to go ask the silver-haired jounin himself; if everyone thought it was better for the brunette to not know what happened between them, he should trust their decision. A part of the chuunin, however, was curious to know what someone (and that someone, if his guess was right, was Hatake Kakashi) could have done to make such secrecy necessary. Another part of the teacher couldn't stand how everyone seemed to be walking on eggshells around him. Even Anko treated him like he would break at any moment.

"Ah, Anko!" Iruka shook himself from his thoughts when he heard Gai call out the kunoichi's name. Turning to follow Gai's gaze, Iruka caught a glimpse of the woman and the blonde teenager at her side. Ino was the first to wave at her old academy teacher and Iruka, in turn, couldn't help but smile at the two females. "And Ino-chan! What a youthful surprise!!" Gai bounded over to their visitors, picking up a mortified Ino in a swinging hug.

"Iruka…how did practice go?" Anko asked as she continued walking towards the chuunin, unfazed by Ino's cries of rape. Iruka took a last glimpse at Gai as he tightened his arms around the poor blonde to the point Ino couldn't take a deep enough breath to scream. Turning to look at the kunoichi mere feet from him, Iruka unconsciously smiled.

"Good…I just need to work on conserving more chakra…" Iruka replied as he took a step towards the smirking woman and, without warning, wrapped his arms around her and, much like his mentor did to the poor teen who was now running from Gai's embrace, lifted her into the air. Anko's immediate reaction was to try wiggling free, but gave up when Iruka, with his customary cuteness, lowered her down enough to kiss her on the tip of her small nose. Wrinkling her nose, the elite jounin couldn't help but smile as Iruka brought her down even lower and brushed his lips against hers. Even as innocent as the kiss was, Iruka's actions sent a shiver of pleasure down the jounin and, for a moment, Anko forgot where they were and who was watching as she returned the gentle pressure.

"GET A ROOM!!" Ino screeched before screaming something about her eyes being burned. Gai, on the other hand, yoshed before going into a soliloquy about the passions of youth. With that short speech, both shinobi lost all interest in continuing their embrace. As he lowered Anko back to the ground, Iruka snorted at Gai's impressive display of a sunset (how the jounin accomplished such feats, no one wanted to know). To spite the teen who was still making a gagging motion, Iruka gingerly kissed Anko's forehead before releasing his grip around her midsection. "Irukaaaaa...I'm never going to be able to get that image out of my head!!"

"Oi, I've seen you smooching that rotund boyfriend of yours!!" Anko retorted, mirroring Ino's childish expression by sticking her tongue out at the teen. "And that turned my stomach!! What would your mother say if she knew you two groped each other in public!?"

Anko laughed outright as she watched the teen's face turn an interesting shade of scarlet. Taking a step back so she was leaning against Iruka's well-defined chest, she waited for the imminent screech. "WE DO NOT GROPE!!" Ino cried as she stomped a foot on the soft ground. Iruka, caught unprepared, almost lost his balance as the ground beneath him shook with the force of the teen's kick. Reminding himself that Ino also trained with Sakura, Iruka wondered how powerful the pink-haired teen had become if her rival had to become this physically strong just so they could spar. The mere thought of Sakura's strength made the chuunin shiver. "Tell her, Irukaaaa!!"

Instead of following Ino's request, Iruka wrapped his arms around the woman leaning on him and chuckled. "Did you two try killing each other during your whole training session, or do you wait until I'm around to go after each other?" he whispered into Anko's sensitive ear. He could feel her body shiver and the chuunin smirked. Just the soft puffs of air he let out as he spoke were enough to make Anko's body erupt in goose bumps.

"Aunt Anko always tries to murder me!!" Ino retorted as she pointed accusingly at the kunoichi. "Today, she made me climb the Hokage monument _without any ropes_!! And I have three broken fingers from last week!" To prove her story, Ino help up a heavily bandaged hand, waving it around as she cried that her aunt was a sadist.

"If I wanted to kill you, gaki, you would have died months ago!" Anko retorted, good-naturedly. Iruka shook his head at the strange affection the two kunoichi displayed as they bounced threats back and forth. He had become used to the daily torture of hearing the two women think of new and creative ways to kill each other, so he could only sit back and listen to their new ideas. Since her father's funeral, Anko made an effort to get to know her niece, which had somehow turned into training the girl at least two to three times a week. In the past few months, those training sessions had started becoming more and more dangerous, but as Iruka looked at Ino, he knew Anko was doing the right thing. The girl hadn't simply learned and perfected shinobi abilities by studying with her aunt, but she had become more emotionally stable and now, with Anko's help, she had risen to the top of the genin group. The only people who could take the girl on were those like Sakura, Neji, and others who had been going through similar grueling training in order to become stronger.

Anko, too, had begun changing because of the time spent with her family. Though she and her sister were still on uncomfortable speaking terms, Anko had gotten to know her brother-in-law and, nowadays, admitted to adoring the quirky man. She also had been excited at the opportunity of training Ino (though she would never admit it to the teen). While Ino sought to get to know her infamous aunt and to become strong enough to be able to rival her friends, Anko taught the girl because of the potential she saw in her niece. She had told Iruka more than once that, given time, Ino would become the most powerful shinobi both her family and the Yamanaka clan had ever produced. Anko couldn't wait for the day Ino surpassed even her in skill and strength. Iruka smiled at the pair, knowing better than to interrupt as they went into a list of interesting tortures that dealt with chopsticks. Anko had become more easy-going since taking Ino on as her student. Before, people would have feared her threats, but Ino and Iruka could only laugh at the ideas Anko spouted nowadays. The woman had also become more open with her emotions. Iruka thought back on when they first started dating and how Anko had always dismissed a painful subject with a joke or by just plain ignoring it. Now, she actually talked to him about things that were annoying her.

"Alright, you two…" Iruka began, but was silenced by a look from his girlfriend. Anko glared at him a moment longer before going back to thinking of a comeback for Ino's inspired use of a carton of sour milk. Coming up with a blank, she turned to Iruka for inspiration, and then smirked when she thought of the end-all torture method.

_Heh…beat this…_she thought as she turned back to her niece. "I'll make Iruka give you the puppy face!!" Seeing Ino's face crumble, Anko let out a squeal of victory. Iruka, on the other hand, could only sigh as he, for reasons he would never understand, was used as the ultimate torture. "Haha!"

"That's cheating!! I…I'll make Chouji eat you!" Ino retorted as her aunt started laughing. Iruka raised an eyebrow at the girl's idea of a response to Anko's use of him in their game. He didn't think Chouji of all people would go against Anko. He had the feeling that, despite the fact Anko was forced to behave at family dinners, the poor boy was scared that his girlfriend's aunt would kill him in his sleep if given the chance.

"I hope he gets indigestion!" Anko snorted, resting her head against Iruka's collarbones. She could feel the chuunin sigh in exasperation behind her and the kunoichi knew that he was probably wondering about her sanity again.

_How did Anko con me into dating her?_ Iruka wondered as he shook his head. The past six months with her had been aggravating at times, painful at others (especially when she brought him out drinking), but Iruka knew that he didn't regret what he did. With his and her family's help, Anko was turning into a human being and, perhaps one day, that would be enough to execute her plot that had sucked Iruka into dating her in the first place.

_Ibiki better thank me for all this one day…_Iruka thought to himself as he rested his chin on the top of Anko's head, tightening his arms around her. The thought of, one day, having to give up Anko made the chuunin hold her even closer. She was the only person – who he could remember – that he had such an open, yet intimate relationship with. Anko knew many of his darkest secrets, but Iruka had still kept those most terrifying deeply hidden. He knew that, though she cared for him, she would look at him differently if she ever met Mizutamari Mari face-to-face. So far, the kappa had followed Iruka's request and took a human form whenever the woman was around. The demon had also hidden his chakra, so Anko had no idea what kind of creature Iruka had trained with for so many years. Taking a deep breath, Iruka wondered why he _knew_ that his jounin friends wouldn't be able to handle knowing where his unique abilities came from. _Perhaps my forgotten memories and my abilities are connected…_Iruka theorized, wondering what a jounin of Kakashi's standing would do if he was to discover Iruka's source of power. He surprised himself when he realized he knew _exactly_ what the jounin would do – he wouldn't be able to trust the brunette and there was also a good chance that the Copy Cat Nin, and other elite jounin, would see him as a threat to the village.

Iruka pulled himself from his disturbing thoughts when he felt something akin to a gentle tug. It didn't originate from any particular area of his body, but seemed to come from all over. Having felt this same sensation many times in the past few months, Iruka felt his mood rise. His son was summoning him.

Anko, feeling a sudden change in her boyfriend, turned and saw the brilliant smile on his face. "I guess the brat wants to talk to you, ne?" she asked, knowing that Iruka wouldn't take offence for the 'brat' description. Since they began dating, Anko had had the chance of following Iruka when he was summoned by the blonde, so she had gotten to know the boy. He wasn't the idiot or monster everyone made him out to be. No, in the past few months, Anko learned that he was extremely powerful and even more perceptive than she originally thought. Naruto had surprised her on multiple occasions when he asked about whatever it was that was on her mind.

"He probably wants to ask for more of a ramen allowance," Iruka joked before brushing his lips against the top of her head. Slowly releasing the woman, Iruka stepped back and waved a quick goodbye to her before closing his eyes and bringing his hands together in a series of gestures that he knew the three shinobi watching him wouldn't recognize since they were demonic in origin, though none of the other shinobi knew that particular fact. Quickly focusing on where that all-encompassing tug was coming from, Iruka sensed his body shifting, following the source of the call.

In mere seconds, Iruka felt his body's warmth disappear, being replaced with a coldness that got the chuunin to shiver. Knowing better than to open his eyes and look at his watery surroundings before surfacing, Iruka kept his eyes securely shut, kicking upwards. As soon as he felt his body break the surface of the water, Iruka let out the breath he had been holding and opened his eyes. Wiping at the droplets of water that were beginning to bead down his face, Iruka looked around and saw that, as usual, his son was training in a forest.

Iruka slowly swam towards the rocky shore, but froze when he saw a certain sannin in the same body of water as him. Trying to stop himself from wishing that nudity, in Jiraiya's case, was illegal, Iruka coughed loud enough that the man would be able to hear him over his own off-tune humming. The novelist turned to the source of the sound and let out a screech that, Iruka swore, sounded more fitting for one of the teen girls whose high-pitched voices haunted him. Watching in amusement (and slight disgust) the man as he tried to cover himself, Iruka chuckled at his son's idea of a joke. It wasn't the first time Naruto called him just in order to startle his sannin sensei.

"NARUTO, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!" Jiraiya roared as he stomped towards the shore, already getting over the embarrassment of his nudity as he gave up trying to hide any part of his anatomy from the chuunin. Remembering why he was going to kill the boy, Jiraiya turned and looked at the chuunin who was following him to the shore. Momentarily watching in amazement, the man wondered how someone could dry himself so quickly. If he hadn't seen Iruka swimming moments ago, Jiraiya would wonder if the man had actually been in the water at all. The teacher and all of his clothes, as he emerged from the water and walked up to the shore, were just as dry as if he hadn't even been near the water, let alone swimming. Knowing it must have been some kind of jutsu that was connected to Iruka's unique abilities, Jiraiya wondered if such an ability could be taught. Not having to take the time to dry off would give Naruto less opportunity to play tricks on him. "Are you staying long, Iruka?" Jiraiya asked calmly as he finally reached the shore and his eye twitched as he surveyed the empty tree he had hung his clothes in. _I will kill him before the first year is up…_Jiraiya swore, hearing a chuckle come from the impossibly dry chuunin.

"DAAAAAD!!" Iruka got only that quick, and loud, warning before being thrown to the ground by a flash of yellow and orange. Laughing, the chuunin wrapped his arms around Naruto as the teen began telling him about his training so far. Of course, because of his excitement, Naruto was speaking so quickly, Iruka could only catch a few words. Of what he understood, the boy had already been able to control a good portion of the Kyuubi's chakra.

"That's wonderful," Iruka commented as Naruto smiled proudly. Taking the teen's features in, Iruka found himself hit by a wave of nostalgia. Even though he saw Naruto almost every month, he still missed the boy's energetic presence at home. "How long until you're done with your training?"

"At least two more years," Jiraiya replied as he walked over to the pair and tore his student off the chuunin. "And you…where did you hide my clothes this time?" In response, Naruto gave him one of his cheeky grins, but remained silent. Counting to ten in every language he knew, Jiraiya had to remind himself that murdering one's own student was considered bad no matter what country he was in. How Iruka and, later, Kakashi were able to not physically harm the blonde, he could only guess.

"Do you think you'll be able to come back next month for the jounin exams?" Iruka asked, directing his question at the sannin. Looking at the nude man – and keeping his gaze firmly planted on Jiraiya's face – Iruka watched as the man took on a thoughtful expression.

"We could only stay for a few days, at most, but I think it's possible," Jiraiya finally replied, looking at his pupil. The boy had surprised him with how quickly he was learning, so the sannin thought a vacation wouldn't harm their overall schedule. If anything, seeing the jounin exams would encourage Naruto to work even harder so that, one day, he could take those same tests.

"YOSH!" Naruto jumped off Iruka, pumping a fist into the air and, for a moment, Iruka wondered if the boy had spent any time with Gai. The similarity in his actions was positively eerie. Smiling, he ignored the thought and watched as Naruto bounced around, jabbering about what he would do when he was in Konoha. Most things went along the lines of eating at Ichiraku's, but Iruka didn't mind. He hadn't eaten much of the wonderful ramen since Naruto left – Anko demanded he eat 'normal' food most nights, so Iruka found himself sneaking away from the woman's watchful eye in order to have his favorite food once every few weeks. "Wait…the test is in a few weeks!?"

Iruka and Jiraiya stared at the boy, wondering how he was able to freeze in place – mid-jump no less – and ask such a random question. "Un…I should be getting all information on the tests in the next few days so I can get ready…" Iruka replied, barely able to hide his curiosity.

"Wow…we have been gone for a while, ne?" Naruto admitted, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "I didn't know we had been training for so long…" Iruka sighed in exasperation, hoping that, one day, Naruto would be able to keep his dates straight. If not, the chuunin knew he would either have to worry about the boy or make sure Naruto's teammates or lover would be able to do so for him. "What's the test going to be like?"

"It's very similar to the chuunin exam…a written exam, a physical part that tests your endurance and shinobi skills. The last part is what fails…or kills the most chuunin – an all out battle between a jounin candidate and several jounin selected by the council of elders. Anything and everything is allowed in the battle and lethal force is a requirement. No one is expected to defeat all the elite jounin they're pitted against, but those whose abilities impress the jounin they fight against and the Hokage are passed," Jiraiya stated, getting odd looks from both his student and the brunette. Raising an eyebrow, Jiraiya looked at the two for a moment, and then remembered that the structure of the jounin exam was supposed to be a mystery to those who hadn't taken the test at least once. The only people who were allowed in to watch the exams were those who had already gone through the grueling testing, but there were those special cases (and those who snuck in) that were below jounin level and still saw the exam. Sighing, he knew he would have to beg Tsunade to let Naruto in to see the jounin exam.

"_Several_ jounin?! That's suicide!" Naruto eeped as he looked to Iruka in concern. He knew Iruka was powerful, but he had also seen what jounin like Anko and Kakashi could do. It was understandable he feared for his father's safety. "That's not fair!" he cried as he clung to the brunette. Naruto knew he would do anything to protect his father, especially from the kind of injury that such a battle would no doubt deal him. "You can't fight a bunch of jounin!!"

Iruka ignored the pleading tone in his son's voice, knowing that if he, even for a moment, let his will waiver; he would end up letting the overprotective blonde talk him out of taking the exams. Tightening his grip on the teen, Iruka sighed. "I'll be fine, Naruto…I have been training with Mizutamari Mari and Gai for the past few months…" He didn't have to say anything about his fears. From the understanding in his son's eyes as the blonde looked up, Naruto knew exactly why Iruka was so close to backing out of the exam. If anything happened during the exam that forced Iruka to openly use his unique abilities, the secret Iruka had been hiding for so many years would be discovered. _Whatever Mizutmari Mari wiped from my memory would happen again…_Iruka thought to himself, deciding that such an event must have been what everyone was trying to protect him from. If a jounin like Hatake Kakashi found out about him, it was no wonder the man was all but thrown out of the village and Iruka's memories wiped so that he wouldn't recall what kind of danger he was in. _Is that what everyone is trying to hide? That a jounin I hardly know doesn't trust me and that he could reveal my abilities to everyone? _Iruka wondered. The main idea of his theory felt _right_, but he could feel that there was something else…something far more dangerous, more painful than simple mistrust and hatred.

"Are you sure, Dad?" Naruto asked quietly, searching Iruka's doe eyes for any sign that the chuunin was worried for his own safety. Though there was a questioning look to Iruka's gaze, Naruto had the feeling that it had nothing to do with the upcoming jounin exam. _Maybe Mizutamari Mari was right when he said that Iruka wouldn't give up trying to remember Kakashi…_Naruto thought to himself, recalling his last late-night discussion with the scaly creature. The demon had popped in every now and again when Jiraiya was far from camp and gave Naruto a detailed report on how Iruka was doing. As of late, the kappa was hinting more and more about his concerns for Iruka's sanity. _He said Iruka knows he forgot something…but how could he not remember Kakashi?_ Naruto wondered to himself, his heart aching with the idea of forgetting the one person he had similar feelings for. He couldn't help but mentally cry that there was no way he could ever forget Sasuke. The boy was so much a part of his life – the main reason he was training now – that Naruto couldn't imagine having a gaping hole where memories of Sasuke had once been. Not recalling how Sasuke mocked him daily or how the boy blew him off most times. Not being able to remember their first 'accidental' kiss or how he and Sasuke had finally started to train together as rivaling teammates when they were still Kakashi's students. The sound of Sasuke's deep voice, the way he called Naruto 'dobe' with familiarity and an odd sense of friendship, his distinct, smoky scent, or how his extremely rare smiles were far more radiant that even Naruto's happiest ramen-grins. No, Naruto couldn't imagine what it would be like to forget all that. There would have to be something – a place, a person, even a sound or smell that would constantly remind him he was forgetting one of the most important people in his life. _Is that what it's like for Iruka? That he's constantly reminded of _someone_, but he can't remember who?_ Naruto asked himself, wondering how it was Iruka was still sane. After a few days of such torture, Naruto knew he would be a little crazier than usual, but Iruka had already dealt with this for six months.

"Don't worry, Naruto…I'll be fine," Iruka replied, knowing better than to ask the boy why his eyes were starting have a glimmering, watery look. Naruto would just screech that he wasn't crying as he wiped his face. The boy's wet eyes, Iruka knew, weren't due to the idea Iruka had a chance of dying – Naruto knew how powerful, and how protected, Iruka was – but something else. Iruka had the feeling it had something to do with who he had been thinking about – the jounin who no one mentioned around him, the man who had been all but exiled from the village, the person who Iruka couldn't remember bumping into since the beginning of the chuunin exams last year. Even though Konohagure was a massive village, Iruka had seen Hatake Kakashi quite often in the missions office…but, then all of a sudden, those visits to hand in reports or get new missions stopped. _Why you, Hatake-san?_ Iruka wondered as he smiled reassuringly to his son. _What did you do to me?_

--

Leaning back against the cool rock behind him, Gaara momentarily looked up at the sky long enough to figure out that it was about noon before looking back down at his favorite bodyguard. Kakashi had been training without a break since sunrise _two_ days ago. Gaara had heard that the jounin community had a level of endurance that was astounding, but this was insane. The jounin – even though he was so out of shape – was able to train with such energy that the small oasis he started out in was decimated. A few slivers of wood blew past Gaara on a welcome, cooling breeze. So far today, it had been cool – for desert temperatures – but Gaara found himself sweating as he merely sat and watched the jounin train against several dopplegangers that seemed to be out for blood. He had watched Kakashi's first day of training from a distance and Kankuro had taken his place of vigil yesterday morning when Gaara realized the jounin wasn't stopping any time soon. As soon as the several meetings he had to attend were over, Gaara had raced to take his position back from his brother and was stunned into silence when he saw Kakashi still going strong. Kankuro could only whisper that the man hadn't taken a single break the whole time he had been there. Gaara had heard awe and worship in his brother's voice, which made him smile now. At first, Kankuro had pinned Kakashi as an idiot-savant, then after a few weeks, said he was a depressing person who was nothing compared to the stories he had heard about the Copy Cat Nin. Now that Kankuro had seen Kakashi train _out of shape_, he fully approved of Tsunade's idea of a bodyguard for his little brother. If Gaara wasn't mistaken, his brother was slightly in love with the man. Then again, it was hard not to find Kakashi attractive. In his first day of training, Kakashi had shed his robes in favor of less cumbersome materials that were similar to the uniforms in Konoha. This material, too, was removed in yesterday's afternoon heat as Kakashi (according to Kankuro) started a new style of fighting that was unfamiliar to the Puppet Master.

Even though it was only a few days ago that Gaara had seen the man's starved, skeletal body, Gaara could already see the muscle returning underneath the sheen of sweat on dark bronze skin. If nothing else, the jounin looked healthier simply because he had lost his shocking tan lines and was now, all over, a shade that would make most Suna citizens jealous. Wondering momentarily how it was Kakashi had yet to burn like a crisp, Gaara studied the man in search of any hint of pink, but found none. The jounin looked perfectly fine – though still a little skinny – but Gaara knew that Temari was already preparing feasts back at the palace for whenever Kakashi finally decided to call it a day – or several days.

Catching a glimpse that didn't seem to fit with the rest of the jounin's fluid form, Gaara focused his full attention on the silver-haired man and saw him falter again. Even before Kakashi's knees began collapsing, Gaara was at his side, holding him up. Seeing Kakashi this close, Gaara made out something that he hadn't realized from a distance – the man's face was uncovered. He was so used to seeing the dark mask covering up his guard's lower face that he hadn't even thought to look for its absence as he watched the rest of the man move with a grace and strength he had never seen before.

"I thought you had important meetings today, Gaara-sama," Kakashi said hoarsely, his voice wavering as he took shaky breaths. Gaara sighed as he studied Kakashi's face – understanding what his brother's blush yesterday was for. He had thought it was the heat getting to the teen, but Kankuro must have been there when Kakashi took off his mask, so would have seen the jounin's face. Finding his own heart pounding slightly, Gaara had to look away from the jounin's handsome face as he thought about Kakashi's question.

"That was yesterday," Gaara replied, his lips turning up in the barest of smiles when he realized Kakashi had reverted to his friendlier title for the Kazekage. From that, Gaara guessed Kakashi wasn't so angry with him anymore. "You've been training for over two days straight, Kakashi-san."

"Really?" Kakashi asked, surprise in his cracking voice. Chuckling as he thought back at his training, Kakashi realized that he must have been in an extremely deep meditative state to lose track of time so badly – as well as to not realize the redhead was watching him. Blinking, his eyes momentarily blinded by the bright light, Kakashi looked around. Having had his eyes closed while meditating and training, he found himself unaccustomed to the bright light of the desert. Kakashi felt tears come to his sensitive eyes as he looked around the dunes of sand and scattered debris where he recalled a small oasis being when he started training.

"We should go back to the palace. You need to eat and rest, then you can continue your training," Gaara said softly, his eyes trailing over the rest of the jounin and he felt a pang of guilt when he could, now, tell Kakashi's skin wasn't merely dark from the sun, but burnt to the point it looked tanned from a distance. "And perhaps a few medic-nins can look at you…"

"Medics first…" Kakashi whispered as he looked down and caught a glimpse of his dark chest. He couldn't feel the burning or tight sensations that he knew should come with sunburns, which got him even more worried as he studied his deep bronze skin. If it had been a color achieved over months of tanning, Kakashi knew he would be proud of himself – he had never been able to tan back in Konoha…he only burned, but the sunlight here must be different, since he had tanned from his first day in Suna. Chuckling to himself, Kakashi wondered how many jounin back in Konoha would recognize their now crispy comrade. Everyone described him as being the same shade as a marshmallow, which Kakashi knew better than to dispute. Most people only saw the skin that saw light of day (and was ever so slightly tanned in comparison to his natural skin color).

"Only if you stay indoors for training from now on. You have seen enough sunlight for some time," Gaara replied with a quiet chuckle. Kakashi nodded his head as he returned the chuckle – it was the first time Gaara had ever heard him laugh so freely, so he was slightly taken aback. It wasn't simply the sound of the man's laugh, but that, when he glanced over at Kakashi, he caught a glimpse of deep indents on the man's cheeks.

As he all but carried the heavy man back to the palace, Gaara discovered it was much easier to talk to Kakashi when the man didn't have his mask on. That, and Kakashi seemed to be slightly delirious from exhaustion, hunger, thirst, or sun poisoning. Gaara had a feeling it was a mixture of all four when Kakashi let out a giggle that seemed more fitting for that girl from Konoha whose hair reminded him of bubble-gum.

--

Authoress: Okay, since this is only a prologue and meant to catch us up on what happened on the time jump between Underneath the Scars and the beginning of Scars Fade, I'll stop here, but you can bet your Yaoi-lovin' bottoms that future chapters will be longer!! So, anyways, I know this chapter was a bit…off…especially Gaara being so OOC, but you have to remember…the poor guy's just a kid and he's already Kazekage…he needs someone to let off some steam on (AKA Kakashi) and, much like Gaara, Kakashi will find someone to talk to in his redheaded (in future chapters (hint hint))…so, until next time, I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter and, please, please /gives cute puppy eyes/ review!! I have an idea of what will happen in future chapters, but it is you, my wonderful reviewers who give me the ideas (or the okay to put in what I want…kuku…) /smiles sheepishly/…so, again, thank you for reading _both_ Underneath the Scars and, now, Scars Fade!! YOOOSH!!


	2. Slowly Healing

Authoress: Okay, since I've been terrible the past few months with updating any of my stories, I'm going to do my best to write at least one chapter to each of my ongoing stories in the next few weeks (I have breaks...YOSH!)!!

Disclaimer: …if only…//suffers a massive nosebleed and dies happily//

**Chapter One**

"How is Kakashi-san doing today?" Kankuro asked softly as he glanced over at his silent brother. Only yesterday Gaara had brought the delirious jounin back from his training and, since then, Gaara had went into one of his silences. Other than a few monosyllables, Gaara had spoken not a word, but Kankuro could see something in his brother's eyes that made him realize how close his younger sibling was to the silver-haired man. Gaara was positively _frightened_ for Kakashi's condition, though Kankuro could swear he saw a glimmer of hope every now and again in his brother's startling green eyes.

"Better," Gaara finally mumbled as he leaned his head against the cool glass separating him and the heavily bandaged jounin. Kankuro could see Gaara's pale reflection in the transparent window and could not help but watch as Gaara let out a soft sigh, fogging up a small section of the glass pane. Kankuro could not help but smile when he saw his brother's eyes focus on the jounin, who now looked more like a mummy than Gaara's best bodyguard.

"You do know Temari is on a rampage downstairs, right?" Kankuro pointed out as he slowly moved closer to the Kazekage. Their sister had lost what little sanity she had left when she heard about Kakashi's condition, blaming both Kankuro and Gaara for letting the jounin train for so long under such extreme conditions. It was her throwing a particularly large butcher's knife at Kankuro's head with her usual frightening accuracy that got the eldest of the three to seek refuge in the upper levels of the palace. Fighting the urge to touch the hole Temari's knife had left in the top of his favorite hood, Kankuro brought a hand up to Gaara's shoulder and gently squeezed the smaller teen.

"Un," was Gaara's only reply as he pulled his head away from the glass and finally turned his gaze onto his brother. Kankuro could not help but inwardly wince for the barest of moments as his eyes met Gaara's. At one time, those sea-green eyes would have struck fear into his heart, but now, Gaara's eyes were filled with the humanity he was forcing on himself. Kankuro did not wince because he still had a slight fear of his brother, but because of he could see the internal battle Gaara was fighting in those verdant orbs.

Finally pulling his gaze away from Gaara's, Kankuro looked at the unmoving jounin and couldn't help but wonder why Kakashi had come here or why he was pushing himself so hard now. "Why?" he asked quietly, as he let go of his brother's shoulder. He did not need to further explain himself; the palace was abuzz with gossip surrounding the jounin and, though Gaara had not been without sight of Kakashi since yesterday, the Kazekage had to have an idea what was going on around him.

"Have you ever loved someone, Kankuro?" Gaara questioned so softly, Kankuro had to strain his ears to hear the Kazekage's words. For a moment, Kankuro was unable to do anything else but stare at his brother in amazement. He could not recall Gaara ever uttering the word 'love' unless it was in reference to that raggedy teddy bear of his when he was a baby. Staring openly at the teen for a moment, Kankuro let his brother's question sink in and tried to formulate an answer.

"I love you and Temari, I love our villagers and, if forced, I would admit I have a fondness for Kakashi, but if you are talking about love in a romantic sense, then no," Kankuro admitted freely as he smiled at his brother. At the mention of his feelings for his siblings, Kankuro could have sworn the briefest displays of happiness crossed Gaara's features. "Why?"

"Would you ever hurt Temari or me so badly…" Gaara took a deep breath as he thought of how to phrase his question. "That we would have to forget all about you…just to go on living…?" With those last few words, Gaara's voice lost the assuredness that had made his transition into leader of their village easier than it would have been for anyone else. For once, the redhead sounded like the young teenager he was, unsure of himself or his emotions, as it should have been if it hadn't been for their monster of a father. Kankuro, without a second thought, wrapped his arms around Gaara and pulled the small teen against his chest. For a moment, Gaara stiffened, being unaccustomed to being so close to someone else, but he quickly relaxed into his brother's comforting, secure embrace.

"I would die first," Kankuro replied, his voice choked with emotion as he tried imagining how wretched he would feel if he, even for a moment, hurt the redhead who, in a child-like action, had tucked his head beneath his older brother's chin or his sister who, for all her bravado, was still just a young girl. His two siblings were not always the powerful shinobi their village viewed them as. They were just children who, because of their twisted upbringing, were more emotionally fragile than others. Kankuro had, at a very young age, promised to be the loving father his siblings never had. He had sworn he would live to make sure they were happy, protected, but most of all, that they were wholly and unconditionally loved. Tightening his arms around Gaara's small frame, Kankuro began understanding why Gaara had asked such a thing.

_It is no wonder Kakashi was wasting away…he was coming here to die…_

--

The first thing he was aware of was an indescribable pain that seemed to extend to the very tip of every strand of hair. As the original surprise of the pain began to wear off and he slowly grew accustomed to the burning sensation, he found that it wasn't as bad as he originally thought. The pain was deep, making even his bones hurt, and made his entire body feel somehow _tight_, but he could smell the distinct aroma of medicine, which meant analgesics. Curious to see what damage was causing him such pain, even dulled with drugs as it was, he cracked open his eyes, immediately noting that someone was kind enough to cover his implanted eye and to dim the lights to the point it wouldn't hurt his natural eye.

Shifting slightly so he could see his own body, he momentarily winced when he saw the sheer amount of white gauze covering him. Even the worst of his missions left him with fewer bandages. Recalling what he had been doing before waking up here, he winced again at the memory of the deep brown shade of his skin.

"Good morning, beautiful," a rumbling voice startled him from his mental check of his injuries. Turning as much as his protesting flesh would allow, he glared into that Kabuki-like face and, if his arms would have listened to his mental demands, he would have flipped the teen off. Instead, he simply glared at the young man who annoyed him with his mere presence. "I would have thought you pasty Konoha citizens would have learned the point of sunblock, baka."

"Leave me alone," Kakashi mumbled, his words garbled because he found it difficult to open his mouth more than the slightest amount. Kankuro obviously understood him, since he sniggered and shook his head before sitting back in his chair, his body language indicating that he wasn't leaving for a while.

"You and I need to talk, Kakashi…Gaara's worried about you," Kankuro said, the mocking tone gone from his voice. Studying the jounin now, Kankuro wondered how he could have possibly missed how much the man had changed since coming here. His visible eye held none of the humor it had during the chuunin exams, his body was a mere shell of what it had once been, but, the most noticeable difference of all was his spirit. Kakashi was broken and Kankuro couldn't help but wonder if there was any way to fix the man. "Gaara told me about you and your lover…what he didn't tell me was why you did it…"

"Go away," Kakashi snapped, his tone devoid of his customary joking manner. Kankuro would have felt slightly afraid of the threat of pain that was laced into the man's words if it hadn't been for the fact Kakashi was no closer to getting off that bed than Kankuro was to flying.

"I won't lie and tell you that I know what it feels like to be in a romantic relationship…but I would _never_ hurt Gaara or Temari, especially not to the extent you did…" Kankuro replied softly, his gaze capturing Kakashi's as he took a breath. "You regret what you did, I understand that…but you had to have known what you were doing would only hurt him…"

"Leave me-" Kakashi was abruptly cut off when Kankuro flew out of his seat, his voice just as deadly sounding as Kakashi's had been mere moments before.

"No! I won't leave you alone!" Kankuro cried out as he grabbed the bandages encircling the jounin's chest and lifted the man so he could look him in the eye, shaking him as his voice dropped. "I personally could care less if you live or die, but I won't watch you destroy Gaara too! He, for some reason, blames himself for the state you're in and thinks that he will always be that monster he used to be…that he will never be able to stop hurting those around him." Seeing the jounin's visible eye widen slightly, the dark orb filled with understanding, Kankuro loosened his hold and gently laid the man back down on the mattress. "Don't you know Gaara sees you as his first real friend?"

"I didn't…" Kakashi finally replied quietly as he watched Kankuro slide back into his chair, exhaustion and worry etched in the teen's face. He had seen a similar look on the young man's masked face a number of times, but he had never before realized how old Kankuro truly looked when he revealed that stress. The brunet was only sixteen, but his eyes were filled with a wisdom and understanding far beyond his years. Kakashi, for the first time since meeting Kankuro, felt a wave of respect for the Puppet Master. He had realized when he first came to Suna that Kankuro had been akin to a father for his younger siblings, but he had never seen how much of a toll it took on the teenager. Kankuro had been forced to grow up far too early, like many shinobi had to…like Kakashi himself had to. The difference was that, where most shinobi did it out of necessity or loyalty to their village, Kankuro did it out of love for his siblings. He had given up any chance to live a normal, healthy life himself just in order to give his brother and sister what so many take for granted – a family.

_A friend…_Kakashi thought to himself as he watched the teen rub his temples for a moment. Though the Puppet Master _was_ a mere teen, Kakashi knew he was far more mature than people twice his age. That, added to the fact that Kankuro had confronted him simply to save his brother from pain, made Kakashi wonder if the teen would be able to still accept him if he knew what he had done – why he had fled Konohagure.

"Do you really want to know?" Kakashi asked as he, despite the cries of protest from his heavily bandaged body, pulled himself into a sitting position. He turned to look at the teen and found Kankuro's eyes, filled with a mixture of surprise, respect, and a slight amount of curiosity, focused on him. "We were close friends…and I got carried away one night, forcing him…hurting him…I destroyed our friendship…and I couldn't stay in the village…being constantly reminded …"

Kankuro couldn't think of a single intelligent thing to say as he listened to Kakashi's brief and vague explanation; the jounin's expressions – his open display of pain and self-hatred – made Kankuro's heart ache. "Do you still love him?" he finally asked as he slid forwards in his chair, intently looking into the jounin's visible eye.

"I don't know if I ever did…how could I when there were so many lies and secrets between us?" Kakashi replied quietly as he looked down at his hands. "I never really knew who or what he was…I couldn't fully trust him…and he should have known better than to trust me."

"You have to stop blaming yourself, Kakashi," Kankuro said as he watched the jounin shake his head in dejection. "It was a mistake, but you're not perfect…" As he watched the older man, Kankuro couldn't help but wonder who Kakashi was trying to persuade, the teen or himself, when he claimed he didn't love that chuunin. Kankuro had to inwardly admit that, if it meant deluding himself in order for Kakashi could go on with his life, the Puppet Master was ready and willing to do whatever it took to help him. Kakashi had more than paid for his sins and deserved a second chance. "When you're done healing, you're going to train for the jounin exams in Konoha, right?"

"If I am to be a proctor, I have to," Kakashi finally admitted after a moment of silence as he thought over what he could do with himself now that, in some way, he was starting to come to terms with what had happened between him and Iruka. Already, after talking with Kankuro for only a short while, some of that excruciating pain had lessened slightly. Perhaps, with time and a great deal of opening up to the three siblings who had, for some reason, adopted him as a new addition to their family, he would be able to one day return to Konoha.

--

"Maa…too slow, Gaara-sama," Kakashi mocked, dodging the oversized hand that had meant to capture him in its vice-like grip, as the redhead let out a huff of aggravation, the hands the teen created out of sand directing a rude gesture at the jounin. Gaara glared at him momentarily, feeling like he had been somehow cheated the past six months since Kakashi came to Suna. Never in their sparring sessions had he ever been so sorely bested by the silver-haired pervert.

Wondering if Kakashi had always gone easy on him before, Gaara mentally shook his head. That may have been part of it, but he could also clearly see that there was a definite change in Kakashi since returning from the desert a mere week ago. The jounin had an actual fighting spirit again. Once Kakashi was healed enough to remove some of the bandages, the shinobi had thrown himself into training again. If Gaara had not been the first and only to see Kakashi's deteriorating health, he would not have been able to guess that only last week Kakashi had been severely malnourished, slightly suicidal and, by the end of the week, sunburned to the point of being poisoned. No, the only thing that noted his previous state was a distinctive change in his skin color. Whereas it once was a pale shade, though it was tanner than when Kakashi arrived in Suna months ago, the jounin now was a deep bronze color that gave him a healthy look. He had also begun eating again and, if Gaara was to comment on the jounin's eating habits, he would say it seemed like Kakashi was making up for his starving before.

Watching as Kakashi nimbly ducked another attack from his sand-based jutsu, Gaara couldn't help but feel a twinge of gladness to see the positive changes in his bodyguard. It was not simply a physical difference, but it seemed like a part of Kakashi's soul had healed as well. He seemed _alive _again. The jounin was nowhere near the perverted, lazy shinobi Gaara had seen at the chuunin exams, but he was once again human enough to smile, joke, and, on occasion, outright laugh. Though Kakashi had made quite a comeback so far, Gaara sensed that it would take a great deal of time for Kakashi to be anywhere close to normal, if he could even ever return to his old self.

Gaara was unsure what brought about this change in Kakashi, but whatever it was, he was immensely thankful for it. He did have a feeling, however, that his brother had something to do with it. Ever since he mentioned Kakashi's problems with his lover, Kankuro and Kakashi were actually able to act civil in each other's presence. It almost felt like the two had forged an odd friendship of sorts. At one time, Gaara knew he would have gone into a jealous rage at such a realization – that he had to share the jounin with someone else – but now he could not help but be happy for the two. Kakashi needed people around him, not only to spar with and annoy, but someone to talk to. Kankuro, too, desperately needed a friend that didn't fear him or his siblings. Gaara was aware how lonely his brother's life was, but also knew that Kankuro had chosen that life for himself. He couldn't help but wonder, however, if Kankuro would always be alone and, if so, would his brother be lonely? The mere thought of Kankuro bearing any moment of sadness made Gaara frown and, in his head, begin wondering if Temari's skills in matchmaking would ever come in handy.

"Gaara-sama?" The redhead was pulled from his thoughts when he heard Kakashi's voice next to him. There was a touch of concern in the jounin's tone, which Gaara knew was understandable, since he had given up attacking the shinobi and, instead, had been contented to watch Kakashi and think. "Are you alright?"

"Un…let's stop for today…" Gaara mumbled as he pulled back his chakra from the sand around them and then turned to look at Kakashi. The jounin raised an eyebrow at Gaara's statement, having never known the Kazekage to stop training until either he or the jounin were about to collapse. "I want to talk…"

"About what?" was Kakashi's first hesitant question, wondering if Gaara was going to ask him to open up and discuss his relationship with Iruka. So far, Kankuro was the only person Kakashi had spoken to about such matters and that was only because he could see how deeply Kankuro's love for his brother ran and how Kakashi's suffering pained the quiet leader of Suna. Kakashi now would not deny Gaara an answer, but he was unsure how much he should reveal to the young teenager who had never been in a relationship and who, in so many ways, was far too innocent and Kakashi did not want to ruin that about Gaara.

"These jounin exams…they are only three weeks away…" Gaara stated, immediately noticing how Kakashi's shoulders sagged in relief. For a moment, the teenager was curious about the man's reaction until he realized what Kakashi thought his questioning was going to be about. "What are they like?"

"Maa…I haven't been in one for years, but they were a five month long testing when I was promoted to jounin…the first month is filled with tests that deal with history, law, medicine, physics, customs, and almost everything else the proctors can think of. Unlike the chuunin exam, the point is not to cheat, but to actually know the answers. A single wrong answer or even the suspicion that you are cheating means instant disqualification from the exams," Kakashi replied, recalling his own jounin exam. He had not been warned by anyone about the grueling tests or what was to come afterwards – such details were supposed to be kept secret, but he saw no harm in telling the Kazekage about the testing when it was obvious Tsunade wanted Gaara to see what their jounin exams were like.

"The second and third months are tests on survival and tracking. It is much like your chuunin exams, though much more ruthless and drawn out. There are no rules to this second part of the jounin exam, other than you cannot kill off the teammates you are assigned. Usually there are four members to a team and the objective of living two months in the forests to the west of Konoha is to show your skills of evading the enemy and surviving long enough to complete your mission. The mission generally is unique to each team, usually having to do with kidnapping a specific target from another team and keeping them in your possession and alive throughout the two months or stealing some object from another team."

"Much like the scrolls in the chuunin exams," Gaara observed, nodding his head. From the way Kakashi spoke, however, he knew that stealing the scrolls was a far simpler job than this aspect of the jounin exam. From his tone of voice, it sounded like there were a number of casualties in this part of the exam.

"Un…the next month is a solitary reconnaissance mission, which involves going to other villages and acquiring a certain obscure bit of information. In times of peace, the other villages the chuunin are sent to be forewarned and citizens are told they cannot answer direct questions about the reconnaissance mission. In war, however, the reconnaissance missions are real…this year, there is a good possibility many will be sent to the Hidden Village of Sound or Mist," Kakashi theorized, recalling how his own reconnaissance mission led him to Suna, but he didn't think now would be a good time to tell Gaara that he had once been forced to attack the teen's village because his identity had been discovered.

"The final test is the most difficult and most deadly part of the jounin exam." Kakashi glanced over at the young Kazekage and couldn't help but smirk when he saw the interest in Gaara's eyes. "What is there left to test?" he asked, meaning for the question to be rhetorical, but the redhead was quick to answer.

"Fighting skills."

"What about the second test?" Kakashi pointed out, recalling the number of fights he had gotten into in those two months. He, like many of his fellow test takers, had been forced to look back to his rudimentary medical skills in order to keep himself from bleeding to death on more than one occasion.

"You are supposed to show stealth more than an outright attack," Gaara replied assuredly. Kakashi couldn't help but feel proud at how Gaara had been able to read his body language and tone for the implication his words had made no mention of.

"Good…the teams who did not fail in their mission or had not faced their opponents head on or were captured themselves are given two choices. Each member of the team can either vouch for and, thus, save another chuunin who would have otherwise failed this part of the examination or they can remove a single opponent who would have passed. Most, when given the choice, will pick the second option, though the opportunity itself is very rare. There is usually only one team every several years that makes it through the two months unscathed."

"What about the last month?" Gaara questioned curiously as he studied Kakashi's face for any indication of what could possibly top all of these tests in order to be the most deadly of them all. Though it was obviously to test fighting skills, Gaara couldn't see how such an exam would be more deadly than its chuunin equivalent.

"A battle…four jounin, preferably ANBU members, for every chuunin," Kakashi replied, trailing off purposely because he wanted to see the quiet teen's reaction to such an outrageous test. Chuunin were no where near the skill level of a seasoned jounin, let alone an ANBU member. It was needless to say that four ANBU would have been overkill.

"It is suicidal," Gaara all but exclaimed as he stared at Kakashi in amazement. Even being a demon container, Gaara had no wish to fight against four ANBU members, especially not after four tiring months of tests, missions, and so on.

"The point is not to defeat the jounin, but to impress them with you r fighting skills," Kakashi stated as he chuckled at the glare the little redhead gave him for misleading him. "All four jounin have to agree that the candidate is worthy of becoming a jounin or else he or she fails."

"What happens if one of the jounin dislikes a chuunin that is taking the test?" Gaara questioned, knowing full well that jounin were just as human as anyone else and possibly the most stubborn and vengeful people he had ever met. If one proctor did not like a chuunin, all he would have to do is claim he was unimpressed simply to spite them.

"The final test is also one of diplomacy and persuasion. If you cannot impress them with your fighting, negotiate," Kakashi replied, chuckling quietly to himself when he recalled the one jerk who had dared to keep him from passing. Kakashi had quickly discovered that the fastest negotiations are ones where a kunai is uncomfortably close to particularly sensitive areas of the body. Gaara, hearing his bodyguard's laugh as well as the wicked glint in his eyes, had an idea what Kakashi had to deal with, which made him momentarily smile.

"How many pass?" Gaara asked as he mentally guessed around fifty or so, since the jounin exams were held only once every two years and, much like the chuunin exams, were only held in one village, so chuunin from surrounding villages would participate in the testing as well.

"To give you an idea…I was the only person promoted to jounin when I tested," Kakashi stated coolly. Most years, the numbers were in the single digits and, generally, any more than seven was considered to be an easy testing year, but the record for promotions was fifteen, when the villages were in a war and, understandably, hard pressed for new jounin to replace the ones that were dying left and right.

"How is it there seems to be so many jounin?" Gaara couldn't help but ask as he recalled the sheer number of jounin he had seen throughout both Suna and Konoha. There had to be around a hundred in each village, but that did not make sense by Kakashi's statistic.

"There are two level of jounin, though lately less distinction is made between them. Those who fail in the last test of the exam are still considered to be jounin only by the village elders and are never allowed to retake the test. To someone who is not a jounin, they can hardly be told from the real thing, but they do not earn the respect, honor, or chances given true jounin. Only one who passes the exam can ever become an elite jounin, an ANBU member, or our Hokage," Kakashi explained, his tone revealing that the class of pseudo-jounin was a sore topic for him.

Thinking about all Kakashi had told him, Gaara felt a surge of respect for the silver-haired man. He had never realized before how difficult it was to become a jounin, since the details of the test were supposed to be a secret to everyone but examiners, current jounin, and those taking the exam. "You will be one of those four proctors for the last part of the exam this year," he pointed out questioningly, watching as the jounin nodded. "Do you pick who you fight against or is it by chance?"

"Chance…there are usually ten or so proctors for the final part of the test and they randomly form a group of four for each chuunin," Kakashi replied, recalling his first proctoring, when he, Ibiki, Anko, and Gai were picked for every chuunin who had passed so far. Afterwards, there was a great uproar about rigging it so that the four most powerful jounin were the only jounin administering the final test, though it was mere coincidence; they seemed to somehow always get the four shortest straws, despite Anko's best efforts to mark the straws so they would know which ones not to pick when they did not feel like beating another brash chuunin into the ground. It seemed, however, that that was the first year the Sandaime had used his new, cheat-proof straws so that there was no way the jounin could get out of their duties. Kakashi couldn't help but wonder if the old man had somehow put a jutsu on the straws so he and the others were always picked. It would be the perfect revenge for years of neglecting their responsibilities as ANBU.

"And the proctors are all from the village hosting the exams?" Gaara asked, getting another nod from the jounin. The sheer amount of planning and preparing that had to go into a jounin test was staggering, but Gaara was not sure if he would ever be able to have Suna stable enough for such an event, though it did sound like a great opportunity for diplomatic interests. Perhaps that was another reason Tsunade had invited him to the jounin exams. If other village leaders saw how much Tsunade trusted and respected him, they would be less inclined to think less of him simply because of his age and inexperience.

Gaara, for a moment, wondered if it would be possible to pull some strings and get Kakashi as one of his testers when he was prepared enough to take the jounin exams. He knew Kakashi would be the most difficult person to fight against, but he felt the need to prove himself to the jounin. He could tell Kakashi respected him as the Kazekage, but he wanted Kakashi to also see him as a competent shinobi who deserved his position not only because of his immense power, but also because of his control of it and his abilities as a shinobi.

"What happens if the chuunin defeats all of the jounin in the last part of the exam?" Gaara asked quietly, wondering if such a thing was possible. If so, he was going to strive to beat that person's record with fewer injuries and pass the test in less time. He could think of no other way to prove that, despite his young age, he was worthy of the title Kazekage and the responsibilities that go along with such a position.

"It has never happened before. Even the best chuunin have only been able to beat one of the jounin testers and that is only because the testers are tired or have underestimated the chuunin," Kakashi admitted, knowing he was one of the rare people to have ever caught a proctor unaware. If the Fourth had taken the exam, he may have been able to, at most, surprise three of his testers, but Kakashi was not sure he could have taken on four ANBU members at once after four months of exhausting tests and missions. Even now, Kakashi would rather not go against four other shinobi of his ranking if he could help it. He could, if pressed, hold his own, but Kakashi knew he would not be walking away from such a battle unscathed.

"Are there going to be any promising chuunin in this year's exams?" Gaara questioned, curiosity laced in his voice. Tsunade had hinted that Kakashi's lover would be a surprisingly competent tester, but Gaara had no real way to gauge the chuunin's competence. He had only seen the brunet in passing and, from appearances only, he looked like a kind-hearted young man. He had soft, sensitive eyes and, even from a distance, Gaara could see how close he and that blonde idiot were. He had heard how well-respected the man was as a pre-genin teacher, but no one ever spoke of his abilities as a shinobi. It was almost as though no one ever could see him fighting for his village. Perhaps that was partially why Tsunade had mentioned how his testing would be most interesting to watch. The jounin community would certainly underestimate a seemingly kind-hearted teacher and Gaara could only imagine how the brunet would use that to his advantage.

The demon within him, when he first laid eyes upon the teacher, could not help but growl jealously. The man had held himself in a way only those cursed with demons could relate with, but he had somehow grown into those abilities in a way that Gaara could only hope to one day accomplish. He was obviously confident in his abilities as a shinobi, but he was afraid of that darkness within him so much so that he tried to bury it deep within himself. From a mere glance, Gaara could see that he was filled with a tremendous power and, at times, that power radiated off of him, but he was weighed down by trying to hide that same kind of dark chakra that had destroyed Gaara's chances at a normal life. He could control that evil chakra within himself and use his unique skills in harmless ways. Gaara had secretly watched one of his pre-gennin lessons and could not help but be amazed when he felt that dark chakra wrapping around his pint-sized students and, back then, his demon roared in glee, waiting to watch the children be torn apart by that immense power. He could only let his jaw drop, however, when he felt that same black energy forming shields around the children, protecting them from straying shuriken as the soft-spoken man tried teaching the children how to aim their weapons. It was the first time his human side felt a tug at his heart and he instantly respected the man. Never before, and not once since, had he ever seen evil chakra do such an amazing feat as protect another human being. Even his own demon roared in outrage when Gaara suggested trying to repeat that teacher's actions in protecting his siblings. Whatever Iruka had to do to get the monster within him to agree to such a thing was something Gaara had pondered more and more in the past week as he watched Kakashi train. He had not once asked the jounin, but he could not help but question himself if whether or not Kakashi knew what the chuunin could do. If he did, Gaara wondered if Kakashi would explain what exactly the chuunin _was_. All he and his demon could agree on was that he was not a demon container like Naruto and himself. There was something different – something frightfully more powerful and deadly – about him that they could not explain. It was as though that kind-hearted man was more demon-like than Gaara and Naruto were ever capable of being. As he thought to himself, Gaara's eyes widened as he realized how such a thing was possible. Closing his eyes to the outside world, Gaara imagined the creature within him and could see his amazement reflecting in the monster's eyes. Gaara hated to even think it, but he had to admit that there was a possibility that the chuunin was not simply the container of a demon; he _was_ the demon.

--

"Iruka-sensei!" Konohamaru whined, his high pitched voice grating on Iruka's ears so much, the chuunin's eye twitched slightly. He could hear a slight twinge of fear in the boy's tone, which only made him wonder what kind of question on the exam would have frightened Konohamaru so much so that he would dare talk during a test. Looking up from the papers he was grading, he saw that the majority of his students were staring at the windows with wide eyes. Following his students' gaze, Iruka saw a figure clad entirely in black standing right next to the window, a dark cloak covering the intruder from top to bottom. Over his or her face was a white mask, its features akin to some feline Iruka could not immediately place because of the moment of heart-pounding fear that raced through his chest. _ANBU_…was the only thought that could come to the teacher's mind as he felt his chakra instinctively rush to shield his students in case this was not a Konoha ANBU member. The ANBU member must have felt the change in the air – the cooling temperature – because its face immediately turned to Iruka and it nodded its head, as though it was impressed and pleased with his quick response to its presence. Others would have thought to protect themselves first and foremost, but Iruka viewed his students to be far more important than himself.

The ANBU member did not say a single word as he or she seemingly glided across the classroom towards Iruka. Slowly standing up as the elite shinobi reached his desk, Iruka could see shadowed eyes almost fully hidden by the ANBU uniform. Fighting back the urge to smirk when he identified those light brown eyes, he bowed respectfully to the woman whose head barely reached the middle of his chest. She let out the quietest of chuckles when she saw the recognition in his features. Iruka saw the barest of movements out of the corner of his eye and, looking down at his desk, he saw a scroll resting on it. The seal and bright red ribbon around the scroll instantly caught Iruka's eye and, within mere moments, he recognized them as the symbol for the jounin exams. A shiver of anticipation raced through him as he slowly reached out to touch the one object that finally proved he was not the weak chuunin everyone thought him to be. One of the elite jounin had deemed ready to test and nominated him; Iruka had been accepted into the jounin exams.

Though Iruka was quite sure he would be nominated, whether it be from Gai, Anko, or any of the other jounin he had gotten to know in his years in the Missions Office or in the past few months of dating Anko, he could not be entirely certain another one of the jounin would argue his recommendation. All it would have taken would be one disagreement and he would not have been allowed to participate in the exam. Smiling to himself as he glanced back up at the woman on the other side of his desk, Iruka could see the glittering amusement in her eyes. For a moment, he wondered if it was purely by chance that Anko was the one delivering the instructions to his first jounin exam or if she had asked for such a duty.

"Thank you," was all Iruka could say as he smiled at her. He had to fight the urge to sweep her up in his arms, hug her, and make her blush in that adorable way she did when embarrassed. She was supposed to be a nameless figure while in ANBU uniform, but all Iruka wanted to do was profusely and physically thank her for the opportunity she and the rest of the jounin community had given him.

"Arrangements are being made for your classes," she said softly, an amused lilt in her voice. Iruka could hear her barely contained laughter in her whisper. Only she and the other jounin who knew him well would have understood how his students would have been his first priority once he got over the shock of being selected to take the jounin exams. Iruka never thought that it would come as a surprise when he was accepted, but he was only beginning to realize what this test would mean. He would be giving up his students for months, perhaps even permanently if he was needed for missions after his promotion. He was taking a chance of remaining in limbo between chuunin and jounin if he failed the final part of the exam, but most of all, he was going to have to fight for his very life if he ever hoped to pass.

Nodding his head numbly, Iruka saw a flash of concern in her eyes and, without speaking a word, he indicated that he would have to talk to her later. He smiled at her, hoping to alleviate some of her worry. Anko barely moved her head in a nod of understanding, but the curiosity still remained in those brown eyes. "Be prepared in two weeks," she said so quietly, Iruka hardly heard anything other than the soft whisper of air.

Without another word, Anko disappeared in a puff of smoke. Biting his lip to stop himself from chuckling at her dramatic departure, which she was sure to impress his students with, Iruka looked back to the children and saw their widened eyes. Many of them had shinobi parents and a large majority were related to jounin or, at the very least, those in that in-between status of no longer being a chuunin, but not accepted by the jounin community as one of their own. From the mixture of looks, from understanding to mourning, Iruka could even tell which ones had felt the deadly nature of the jounin exams firsthand.

"Are you leaving us, Iruka-sensei?" Konohamaru's voice faltered as he asked the question that was in the eyes of all of his students. For a moment, Iruka's resolve wavered as he thought of the possibility of never seeing the faces of his beloved students again. He might never have the chance of screaming at Kohohamaru for being his usual aggravating self. He might lose the possibility of watching this group graduate into genin and, perhaps, even chuunin or jounin one day. Looking at their faces, some eyes already filling up with unshed tears, Iruka realized he may not get another chance to really say goodbye to his students. It would take him the next two weeks to prepare for his testing…to get everything in order in case the worse really did happen to him. There was no way he could continue teaching for more than a few days.

"I'm not leaving, Konohamaru, I'm just going to be gone for a few months," Iruka replied, doing his best to keep his voice even. Scanning the students, Iruka could see that their worries were not in the least alleviated by his comment. "I am going to be participating in the jounin exams in a few weeks. You will be given a substitute teacher while I am gone, but I promise I will be back as soon as possible."

Mina, the smallest and, in Iruka's mind, the sweetest of his students, raised her hand innocently and, when Iruka gestured that she could talk, the tiny child who barely reached his kneecaps stood up from her desk and, without warning, bolted towards him. Iruka barely had enough time to react as she ran to him with her arms wide open. Bending down enough to swing the little girl up into his arms, Iruka held her tightly as her tiny body shook with quiet sobs. Seeing the child in his arms broke the silence that had enveloped the rest of his class and, within the blink of an eye, Iruka felt the small arms of a number of children clinging to him, his ears drowned with sobs and protests as a chorus of voices begged him not to leave them.

"I will come back," Iruka tried telling the sea of watery eyes that looked up at him when they heard his voice. He could hear a few negative comments from his more skeptic students, but he could only smile at them. "Don't you believe me?" he asked, smiling optimistically as he could.

"But we don't want you to die, Iruka-sensei," Mina said quietly into his shoulder, her voice muffled so much that Iruka knew he was the only one to hear the shy little girl. Tightening his embrace around the tiny, quivering body, Iruka rested his face against the top of her head. He never thought it would be so difficult to say goodbye to his students. He had graduated so many, but he had always known he would see them around the village. Saying farewell to his pre-genin students was different – it felt more permanent.

"Why do you think I would die?" Iruka questioned, looking around at his students. The few pairs of eyes that would meet his were those of students had seen death firsthand – the students who had already lost parents, siblings, or other relatives because of the lifestyle they had been born into or chosen for themselves.

"My sister didn't make it last time…" one voice declared, quickly followed by similar comments from a number of students concerning those close to them. Iruka looked around at his pre-genin students, amazed at how many had been affected by the rigorous jounin exams. He had known the casualty rate of the tests was second only to war and the Kyuubi attack, but he hadn't realized just how much damage a _test_ could result in.

"You don't have any faith in me, ne?" Iruka asked jokingly as he looked to each student. Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, his students were in an uproar over his comment. There were more than a few loud and adamant "no's," but what him to chuckle was the variety of declarations from the children who were much more optimistic.

"You'll beat everybody, Iruka-sensei!"

"They don't stand a chance!"

"They won't even put a scratch on you!"

"You're gonna win and be the next Hokage!!"

That final comment could have only come from Konohamaru, which made Iruka laugh all the more. The children knew nothing about the jounin exam other than that it was dangerous, which made Iruka laugh all the more. They had such blind faith in him that Iruka found it touching. For a moment, Iruka wondered what his son's response would be and, instantly, he decided that it would be along the same lines as Konohamaru's. Only those two would be such optimistic individuals.

"I don't know about Hokage, but I will definitely do my best!" Iruka replied as he slowly turned in a full circle to look at all of the students surrounding him. "But I'm sure I will do much better if I know all of you are on your best behavior with my substitute," he added, hoping the children would not be the devilish monsters he knew they could be while he was gone.

A chorus of promises rang in Iruka's ears and the chuunin could not help but smile at the children's pledges of doing their best while he was gone so he wouldn't have to worry about them. Iruka had no doubts they would try keeping to their word, but he had the sinking feeling that whoever took his place would have a number of problems as the children adjusted to their different teaching methods. He could only hope that his substitute had the patience of a saint and more than a few kind words for the children.

--

"Oh you have got to be shitting me!" A noticeable eye twitch was the only other reaction she had as she stared at the scroll in her hands. Looking up to glare at the group of hysterical jounin, she pursed her lips and growled.

"Aw, it's only a few pre-genin," Asuma pointed out before letting out a snort, his cigarette dropping out of his mouth and landing in his lap. She couldn't help but hope he burned his groin horribly as she turned her deathly glare on everyone else.

"You should have known Tsunade-sama would have assigned you such a mission. You can't possibly be part of the jounin exams with Iruka taking them…" Ibiki observed, his tone holding a strange quality that she could only place as hurt. She lessened her death-glare as she looked to him, wondering if it was possible he was finally beginning to react to their farce.

"C'mon, it's just a few months. I'm sure you can teach the kids how to scare the crap out of Ebisu with just a single look," Kurenai commented optimistically. Anko shifted her gaze in order to look the kunoichi and found her friend to be silently laughing to herself. Why on Earth the Hokage thought she would be a good substitute for Iruka, she had no idea, but she had been hoping that her and the chuunin's relationship had slipped Tsunade's mind. She had been looking forward to the possibility of being one of Iruka's proctors in the last exam.

"Anko, it won't be that bad. Iruka's students are the most well behaved pre-genins in the entire academy," Ibiki stated assuredly. For a moment, Anko wondered how he would know such a thing, and then recalled how the giant of a jounin had a large soft-spot for children. Though he tried his best to hide it, his closest friends had seen the heavily scarred shinobi playing with the pre-genin children when their teachers weren't looking. Perhaps it was because Ibiki was always treated as a monster by adults because they knew what he had to do as an interrogation expert that he found children so interesting to be around. Children showed little disgust in his scars, especially if they knew where they came from. Actually, a good number of them were proud of knowing the torture expert. They were not even the slightest bit afraid of him; they were simply fascinated with the jounin who allowed them to crawl all over him and whose deep laughs made his whole body shake.

Anko studied Ibiki for a moment, wondering what the large man would be like around children of his own. She had no doubts he would be the greatest father to exist, but she had the feeling that he would be exceedingly protective of his children. He would be the sort of parent who would have problems letting his children go when it was their first day of school and the one who would be there waiting right outside the academy at the end of every day. He would be the kind of man who would be there for his children no matter what mission he was on. He would do his best to understand them and their antics, knowing exactly when to discipline or when to compromise with the outrageous demands made of him by the miniature versions of himself.

For the briefest of seconds, Anko couldn't help but imagine herself as being the one next to Ibiki when they had to let those small children go to their first day at the academy. She would watch them wave one more time before the bright color of their backpacks flashed as their children entered the school. She would have to then bury her face into his broad shoulder, her emotions ranging from sadness to a pride that only a parent could feel. She smiled to herself, wishing that her flight of fancy could have been actual reality. Even in the past six months, Ibiki had yet to say anything to her, despite her and Iruka's plan. If anything, Ibiki had further distanced himself from her since she and Iruka made their "relationship" public knowledge.

"Are you alright, Anko?" Kurenai asked, bending down to peer into her friend's eyes. A glimmer of depression passed through Anko's eyes as she pulled herself out of her delusions of a life with Ibiki. Looking up into the gentle, understanding eyes of the kunoichi, Anko smiled. It had taken a near death experience for Asuma to finally admit his feelings for Kurenai. It was only when he thought he was going to lose her that he threatened the medical staff with death if they dared to come near her. This was long after Asuma's infamous run in with the hospital's tranquilizers, which made his actions even more courageous and momentous. Though he was deathly afraid of hospitals and medical staff, he had barged in and refused to leave her for a moment. No other action could have possibly shown the depth of his feelings for Kurenai.

During that time, Anko kept her distance from the hospital room, only peering in every now and again to check on the burly jounin as he, with a gentleness she had never seen in him before, held Kurenai in his arms. Holding her against his chest, his head bowed to touch his forehead to hers, he refused to move, eat or speak for days. The only thing that proved Asuma was still alive and conscious was the faint green glow of his hands as he rested his palm against Kurenai's heavily bandaged midsection. After a week, that verdant tinge had begun to dim and, within a few more days, Asuma's own body started to waste away as he began tearing apart his own body to find the strength to keep healing the fragile woman in his arms. Though she never told anyone, it was the first time in a long time that Anko found herself crying for someone other than herself. She had never seen such devotion and unconditional love in her entire life. Even to this day, Anko was unsure if Kurenai knew exactly how far Asuma had gone to protect her. He had eventually been bodily removed from Kurenai's bed when he had begun slipping into a comatose-like state. Even as dehydrated, exhausted, and delirious as he was, Asuma fought tooth and nail just so that they would bring another bed into Kurenai's room so that he could stay with her. Even as weak as he was, Asuma had dragged his bed across the room so that he could lay right next to the kunoichi, his fingers intertwined with hers, as he gave the little energy he had begun to regain in order to continue his feeble attempts at healing her.

The first thing Kurenai had observed upon awakening after nearly a month in that hospital bed was that Asuma didn't have a cigarette in his mouth. All the jounin had done when he heard his comment was let out a bark of laughter before pulling her into his arms and kissing the woman for all he was worth. Anko had quietly slipped out of the room as soon as she had heard Asuma, between kisses and soft laughter, declare his love for Kurenai. Since then, she could only wonder if she would ever experience a love like that – if one day Ibiki would pull her into his arms and tell her the three simple words she had dreamt of hearing for years.

"Anko?" The kunoichi was pulled from her thoughts when she heard Kurenai's voice filled with worry. It wasn't often that she became lost in her own thoughts and, as she tried to focus her gaze on her friend, she found that her sight had become watery.

Quickly thinking of an explanation for her unshed tears, Anko hurriedly wiped her face with a sleeve and took a deep breath. "What if something happens to Iruka?" she asked quietly as she fixed her gaze on Ibiki. For a moment, she swore she saw the giant wince before he lifted his gaze to look at her.

"We will keep an eye on him," Ibiki replied, his eyes seemingly search Anko's for something. She couldn't possibly begin to imagine what his gaze was filled with, but she could tell from the tone of his voice that he would do everything he possibly could to keep Iruka out of harm. Of course, that protection was very limited, since no one was allowed to participate in the second and third exams other than the chuunin testing. The only contact the jounin had with the chuunin, if it could be called contact, was when they had to go into the forest every few days and retrieve the bodies before they began to decompose beyond recognition. The final test, however, was a different matter. If Ibiki was chosen as one of Iruka's testers, Anko had the feeling he would either go extremely easy on the chuunin to keep his promise to Anko or he would beat the young man to the ground, but not badly enough to endanger Iruka's life. Ibiki had never once taken the life of a chuunin testing and he wasn't about to ruin that record.

"Thank you" was all Anko could say in response as she watched Ibiki. Turning to look at the rest of their jounin group, she could see that they would promise the same thing vocally if she asked them, but they would have done so without her request. Iruka was, by far, this year's favorite of the jounin community, but that did not mean that he would have an easy time in his examinations. If anything, he might be pushed harder than anyone else because the jounin knew he would be able to take it.

"Iruka will be fine," Asuma commented as he lit a new cigarette. Anko could not help but smile at him and his confidence in the young teacher. In the past few months, almost all of the ANBU members had gotten a chance to spar against Iruka, since Gai had to go off on a few missions for the Hokage. They had not only done so because Gai had asked them (or Anko had outright threatened), but because they were curious to know why rumors about the chuunin's abilities were beginning to form. By the time nominations for the jounin exams had begun, every one of them was sure of Iruka's proficiency and had no doubt that he would be welcomed among the jounin community.

When going over possible candidates for the jounin exams and Iruka's name came up, there was actually a small bit of an uproar. Iruka had not done the customary several years studying underneath a jounin, which made some doubt his abilities. Some jounin were worried Iruka would be rusty after his years as a pre-genin teacher. Even more, especially the council of elders, thought that Iruka was too young and far too inexperienced, having gone on so few missions before taking his place in the academy. Even when the ANBU members stood up for the teacher, the questions of Iruka's capabilities remained under scrutiny. The only thing that saved Iruka's place in the jounin exams was the confidence the Hokage herself showed in him when she stood before the jounin community and the council and nominated him, not only throwing her weight as a member of the elite jounin, but as Hokage. Tsunade was beyond confident of Iruka's competence and said she would stake her title on the chuunin.

"But what if something happens to him?" Anko could not help but be slightly worried about the brunet. She had seen the amazing things Iruka could do, but Iruka was not hardened against the kinds of pain and suffering he was going to have to experience in the upcoming exam. She was certain Iruka had never killed and she wanted to save that little bit of innocence if she could.

"Iruka deals with hyper pre-gennins and us on a daily basis…I'm sure he can deal with a few chuunin," Kurenai joked as she knelt down to look Anko in the eye. Anko saw the understanding in her friend's eyes and recalled that it had been nearly six months since they were assigned to watch over Iruka. How could they possibly do so when they were allowed no where near the chuunin? She had never been far from Iruka in those six months and couldn't help but feel a slight loss at imaging what it would be like to not have his calming, comforting presence around whenever she needed him.

"How will he deal with _him_?" Gai asked, surprising everyone in the room. He had been uncharacteristically silent since the meeting to discuss the jounin exam. Even a few drinks hadn't helped the spandex-clad jounin from opening up to his friends.

Anko's eyes widened as she looked to Kurenai; from the concerned look in her friend's eyes, Kurenai had understood Gai's vague comment. "He is coming back?" she asked in a mere whisper, her eyes quickly going to Ibiki, who was the only one of the group who hadn't been informed about Iruka's _issues_ and how her and Iruka's relationship was just a way for her to keep her eyes on the chuunin. Quickly trying to think of a way to tell Ibiki about Iruka, but not that her relationship with him was a farce, Anko began to open her mouth, but froze when she heard Gai continue.

"He is coming with the Kazekage. They should be arriving next week," Gai added, unusually somber. Though Iruka was uncommonly powerful, Gai had been able to see how weak he was when it came to emotional matters. He, in a way, could understand Iruka's pain far more than anyone else, having lost his lover years ago. Since then, he refused to ever look for someone to replace him in his heart. Perhaps, in a way, he wanted to save Iruka from that endless suffering by keeping Iruka from ever remembering he had once loved at all. If that was so, Anko could only wish Gai luck in his venture. She wanted to save Iruka from that heartache as well, though she could not help but still think it was cruel for Iruka to not even recall the jounin. Somehow, against all logic, Kakashi had wormed his way into Iruka's heart and Anko couldn't help but wonder if there was a hole where memories of Kakashi had once been. Did Iruka recall how Kakashi was actually kind to him or how Kakashi impatiently waited every day for the Missions Office to close just so he could be near Iruka?

"Oh, Kakashi's finally coming back?" Ibiki asked, mildly curious as he watched the rest of the group's expressions that all held the similar dread. It was as though they had forgotten that Kakashi had been one of them – that he had been part of this small, highly selective group of the most elite ANBU. He was their friend, or at least Ibiki thought he had been, but from the hatred he could see visibly shining in Anko's face, he began questioning that relationship.

"Ibiki…we didn't know how to tell you…but Kakashi…he and Iruka…" Anko trailed off, wondering how much she could tell Ibiki before she treaded dangerously close to her reasoning for dating Iruka. She looked towards the rest of their friends, hoping someone else could think of a way to explain their reaction to Kakashi's imminent return.

"Kakashi and Iruka used to be together…but Kakashi broke his heart…" Kurenai continued quietly, her gaze focused on the floor. As soon as she and Anko had discovered about Iruka's amnesia, she couldn't hide it from Asuma, who in turn said that they had to tell Gai, since he was Kakashi's closest friend and Iruka's teacher. Gai had actually responded to the news in a surprising way – he had only made the comment that, if anyone could possibly save Kakashi from himself, it would be Iruka. He had expressed neither hatred for his best friend, nor pity for Iruka, but he did reveal that he would die to protect Iruka from that kind of pain if it became obvious Iruka couldn't handle it.

"But you and Iruka…" Ibiki turned to look at Anko and found her eyes searching his for something that gave him the barest glimmers of hope. He had told no one, but when he had heard about Iruka and Anko's budding relationship, he had all but gone to demand Anko for an explanation, but he stopped himself. He had never revealed his interest in her and he couldn't blame her for wanting someone that would openly care for her as she deserved. The thought of someone unworthy of her breaking her heart made his blood boil and, for a moment, Ibiki growled to himself. Anko was not some sort of rebound and he would kill the chuunin if that was what Iruka saw her as.

Before Anko got the chance to correct the obvious conclusions Ibiki had drawn from the vaguest explanation they could have given, he stormed off in a very un-Ibiki-like display of emotion. Giving herself a moment to take a deep breath, Anko slowly stood up before turning to look at her friends. No one gave her any words of advice; it was evident from their looks that this was her decision. She was the only person who could set things right with Ibiki by telling him the truth, but she was also the only one who could think of a reasonable explanation for Iruka and her relationship. It was her choice which reason Ibiki was given. Quickly moving to follow the torture expert, Anko raced from the room. By the time she caught up with the tall man, he had already made his way across half of the village.

"Ibiki, wait!" Anko called out as she ran the last few feet separating them. Even though she could only see his broad back, she could see the tremendous anger Ibiki was containing. He was usually such an even-tempered person, Anko was momentarily astounded that he _could _feel such human emotions like anger.

"You deserve better than that, Anko" was all he could growl out from between clenched teeth. Feeling a gentle pressure against his back, Ibiki turned and found Anko reaching out to him, her eyes filled with uncertainty.

"I do…" she admitted as she searched his eyes, a saddened smile coming to her face. "But you never gave me a chance."

"What?" Anko didn't hear Ibiki's question more than see his lips moving soundlessly as he fully turned to face her, his eyes widening as he brought a trembling hand up her cheek. Without a word, Anko stepped towards him, hoping that she hadn't misread the few bits of body language he let past his almost impenetrable defenses. She didn't want to discover that he felt nothing for her while her heart ached for him to simply acknowledge her feelings for him.

"I…" Anko choked on her words, wondering if she could possibly tell him how she felt. Would he look at her like she was crazy – like Kurenai and the others did when she finally admitted that she was inexplicably attracted to the heavily scarred jounin? Would he not believe her? He was always very sensitive about his outward appearance since so many people were affected by his scars. Children seemed to be the only people in his mind who could see the whole man he once was. Taking another step towards the giant, Anko brought her hands up to rest on his cheeks. As she gingerly felt the deep impressions along his cheeks, Ibiki pulled his face away from her, as though he was horrified for her sake.

"Don't," Ibiki said softly as he turned away, hiding as many of his scars as he could from her sight. Anko took a deep, fortifying breath as she took another step towards the torture expert. Feeling the electrifying sizzle that ran through her body as she moved so close their bodies were nearly flush against each other, Anko looked up into his face.

"Please, Ibiki…I didn't know how to tell you before…"Anko started, her voice so quiet that the tall jounin had to strain himself to hear her. The breath was nearly taken out of his body when she leaned into him, resting her head against his chest. "I…I was assigned to take care of Iruka after Kakashi left…"

"A romantic relationship wasn't required," Ibiki retorted, wishing he could get rid of the urge to wrap his arms around her and nestle his nose in her sweet-smelling hair. He bowed his head ever so slightly when he felt her warm breath seep through his uniform. He had never thought that keeping Anko away from himself would be so difficult.

"No…but I wanted to make you jealous, so we pretended," Anko replied quietly as she brought her arms around Ibiki's broad chest and held herself against him, an ear laid against his breastbone as she listened to the steady beat of his heart. For just a second, she swore she heard his heart skip a beat, as romantic and delusional as it was. "I wanted you to care about me…"

Ibiki took a shaky breath. Even in his dreams, he hadn't been this hopeful. He had never thought it was possible for the woman, who was everything he wasn't, to care about him. She was young and beautiful, smart, funny, outspoken…he was the monster that so many believed only thought of torture and murder. He wanted to tell her to stop – to not feed his hopes just to dash them with a laugh and statement that she had only been joking – but his lost his ability to speak as he lifted her head from his chest with the barest of touches under her chin.

"I-I…" Anko was at a loss for words when she looked up into Ibiki's face. At this close distance, she could for the first time see that his dark eyes were flecked with a rich gold, glinting in the fading light of the evening like brilliant gems. In the soft red hues from the sunset, Anko caught a glimpse of the man Ibiki had once been before he allowed his scars rule his life. He would have been considered handsome by anyone with his dark, exotic features. His eyes, along with his dark bronze skin and immense size would have gained many interested looks. Even now, she could tell he had a perfectly square jaw, a broad, masculine nose, and full lips that hardly showed their heavy scarring at this close a distance. Bringing her hand back up to touch his face, this time slowly as to not surprise the jounin, Anko traced her fingers along his prominent cheekbone, feeling the slightly uneven skin underneath her fingertips, but that couldn't stop her from seeing him as a person – as the man who had been the first jounin to accept her when her association with Orochimaru became public knowledge. He was the one who had protected her from the jeers of others, telling her that shinobi could be ruthless, but the jounin would come to know her and trust her as he did. There was always something so understanding about him and, in a way, that was what she had fallen in love with. She had fallen for the man who had made her feel like she was worth something, that she wasn't simply another one of Orochimaru's henchmen, and that she was capable of earning the trust and respect of others.

Before she lost her courage, Anko shifted her weight and leaned towards the tall man, stretching upwards as she gingerly pulled him downwards so she could brush her lips against his. Instantly, she felt the warmth of his lips burning against her. She had always thought Iruka was a good kisser, but there was something different about Ibiki's lips on her own. It was as though it was meant to be.

Ibiki was the first to pull away from the delicate pressure, his eyes focusing on her face as he brushed his fingers against her soft cheeks. "You deserve so much better than me," he said quietly, searching her eyes for even the barest hints of regret, but found none. If anything, he saw her resolve harden as she wrapped her arms around his neck before forcing him to bend back down, crushing her lips against his to keep him from making any other protests.

To any passerby, it may have just looked like a couple caught in a romantic moment, only aware of one another and oblivious to the rest of the world around them. They would only see a tall man needing to lift his small lover up in his arms to kiss her with a passion only those hopelessly in love possessed. They wouldn't see his scars or her marks of being a traitor – they simply saw two people who had eyes only for each other. To the collection of jounin peeking around the corner in a very childlike manner, it was cause to celebrate and cause for a significant amount of money to change hands.

--

Authoress: Okay…I have to admit…for a het bit, that wasn't too disgusting…I actually had to "awe" a few times…I don't know why…but Anko and Ibiki are one of the few straight couples I can imagine without shivering or twitching…so, anyways…I'm in the mood to reward everyone for being patient, so on to the rest of the chapter!!!

--

Iruka yawned, stretching his arms up over his head, before he cracked open an eye to look at the clock on his nightstand. Though it said only five in the morning, it felt like he had slept in and it took Iruka only a moment to realize why. Last night had been the first time in a while that he hadn't stayed up a good portion of the night with Anko. Wondering where the woman could have gone and what kind of trouble she could have gotten herself into, Iruka rolled out of bed and, with a quick change of clothes, began walking towards the door.

He momentarily furrowed his eyebrows when he heard the gentle knocking against the door as he was reaching for the knob. Opening the door, Iruka found himself face to face with the woman he had just been about to go search for. What he hadn't expected was the giant of a man next to her, nearly filling the doorway with his immense presence.

"Good morning Anko…" Iruka said as he studied the two for a moment. He immediately focused on their intertwined fingers and their close proximity. Though a small part of the chuunin wanted to mourn for the loss of his companion, Iruka couldn't help but feel like congratulating the two on finally admitting their mutual attraction.

"I'm sorry I didn't come over last night…but Ibiki and I had to talk about some things," Anko said softly as she looked over at the man towering several heads over her. In response, Ibiki smiled and Iruka could see the scars on his face softening with that small gesture. He had to admit that Ibiki's smiles were rare, but there was something about this particular smile that Iruka knew to be a once in a lifetime experience for anyone other than Anko.

"I understand completely," Iruka replied with a smile that didn't even come close to those on Anko and Ibiki's faces. He needed no other explanation than the looks on their faces, but Anko felt the need to divulge more information.

"We decided to take things slowly, so we spent all last night talking…getting to know each other better," Anko stated as she leaned into Ibiki's comforting embrace. Looking up at the torture expert, Anko wondered how it was she could have ever thought Ibiki had viewed her as nothing other than a friend before. He had admitted last night, through her coaxing and a great deal of alcohol, that he had been wholly in love with her since they first met, but he never thought she would return the sentiment. Before last night, she had never known the real Ibiki other than the few glimpses he allowed people to see every now and again. She had no idea that the man's family had been refugees from a war-ravaged village to the far southwest or that Ibiki had brought a great deal of that culture to Konoha with him, teaching the children in the academy the stories and songs he had learned as a child. With a little more alcohol and a promise of letting him view one of her artworks that were never seen by eyes other than her own, Anko got the large man to sing a few bars from one of his favorite songs. Though the language was unfamiliar, she only had to look into Ibiki's adoring eyes to see the meaning behind the words sung in a rich baritone. It was, by far, the most romantic evening she had ever had in her life.

"I'm happy for both of you," Iruka truthfully admitted as he tried imagining what the two could talk about for a whole night. He had never been able to keep Anko talking for more than a few hours and, by that time, they had run out of interesting things to talk about. Then again, he assumed the two didn't find the need to fill every moment with words.

"For what it is worth, Iruka-sensei, I am sorry for stealing Anko from you," Ibiki stated, his deep voice holding a joking tone that caught the teacher by surprise. From the lack of sincerity, Iruka could only assume that Anko had finally told Ibiki about how their relationship was a sham.

"I'll forgive you just this once, Ibiki-san," Iruka replied just as lightheartedly. He opened up the door enough to let the two jounin into his apartment and gestured for them to come into the kitchen. Immediately, Anko went to work around the familiar room, placing a pot of water onto the old stove and beginning her customary rifling through cabinets and drawers to find something or other. Iruka was so accustomed to it that he could only sit down and look at Ibiki with curiosity, wondering how the large jounin was taking the abrupt change in his life.

"I don't think there will be another one, so you don't have to worry, Iruka-sensei," Ibiki finally commented, his gaze glued on the small kunoichi bustling around the kitchen as if it were her own. Iruka studied the jounin, seeing such minute changes in the torture expert that only those who were in close contact with the man would have seen. Having seen Ibiki on almost a daily basis, Iruka could clearly see how the furrow line between his eyebrows was softer than it used to be. The scars dancing across the jounin's face seemed less harsh than they once were. His eyes, however, were the most noticeable change. Instead of the almost hollow gaze they once had, they were now filled with warmth and emotion directed towards the young woman.

"There better not be," Iruka responded as the jounin turned to look at him. He smiled at the slight blush that came to the torture expert's face as Ibiki realized he had been caught watching Anko. "I never imagined it would take you two this long to realize…thick-headed jounin…"

"You knew?" Ibiki's question came out more as a whisper and Iruka couldn't help but stare at the jounin in surprise. He had never known it was possible for Ibiki to whisper, since the torture expert, though a quiet man by nature, had a voice that seemed to penetrate walls even without meaning to. Nodding his head at the question, Iruka saw a slight change in the jounin's eyes. "Then I must apologize…for the past few months, I had been so jealous of you, I couldn't stand being in the same room as you…I never thought you would have been trying to help us…"

"I was beginning to wonder why you never talked to me like you used to," Iruka replied with a smile. Ibiki had begun by avoiding him in the Missions Office, but it had become so out of control that, in the past few weeks, upon entering a room with the torture expert, Ibiki all but bolted. Iruka had never been able to catch the jounin in order to ask him what was wrong.

"I am sorry about that…I didn't want to snap and kill you…" Ibiki admitted flippantly, as though thoughts of murder were commonplace. Then again, in the world of jounin, it was quite a common occurrence, though Iruka wasn't sure if it was a _daily_ event.

"You don't need to apologize" was Iruka's only response to Ibiki's statement. Watching the chuunin for a moment, Ibiki wondered how he had missed the changes in the young man. Then again, in the past few months, he had been less than observant when it came to Iruka. He had to do all he could just to ignore the brunet. There was a difference in Iruka's eyes, as though a part of him was missing. His entire body screamed the same thing, but it was the chuunin's eyes that haunted Ibiki the most. He looked almost lost as he watched Anko make them a pot of coffee, humming to herself. "Do you believe in soul mates, Ibiki?" Iruka asked abruptly, gaining the attention of both jounin.

Trying to think of a way of answering without giving Iruka any chance to think about Kakashi, Ibiki nodded his head. "I know Anko and I are meant for one another," he replied quietly as he turned to look at the kunoichi. Anko's eyes were filled with warning, telling him that this was very dangerous ground for the chuunin to cover.

"If you never met her, would you still be able to miss her?" Iruka asked calmly, wondering if that was why he had felt so strangely the past few months. He hadn't felt complete, but he didn't know what that sense of loneliness could have been, but seeing the two jounin together got him thinking.

"I'd always know that she was out there somewhere," Ibiki replied just as softly as Iruka. He quickly glanced over at Anko, seeing her bite her lip with concern. He had never before heard such a tone in Iruka's voice and for a moment, he wondered if Iruka could have remembered the jounin who had broken his heart.

Iruka soundlessly watched the silent interchange between the jounin, a hint of understanding coming to him as he began putting facts together. _Kakashi-sensei left Konoha a few days after bringing Naruto back to the village…that night was the one Mizutamari Mari told me would be fuzzy because of training…could something have happened between us?_ Iruka wondered, studying the glint of worry in Anko's eyes. _I always thought he was mysterious and, in his own way, handsome…and I admit I had a bit of a crush on him like everyone else…but he wouldn't look twice at me._ Iruka bit back a mental sigh of dejection at that observation. He was as good as invisible when it came to capturing the attention of that enigmatic jounin. Could it actually be possible he had been able to gain the Copy Cat Nin's interest? If so, how had he actually accomplished such a feat and have no recollection of it? Was he really right in thinking Mizutamari Mari erased something from his memory? Did Mizutamari Mari and everyone else know what had happened between Kakashi and him and were doing there best to keep him from remembering? But the questioned that seemed to plague Iruka's mind the most as he feigned ignorance for the sake of Anko and Ikibi was whether or not the jounin knew what everyone was doing to keep Iruka from remembering him.

--

Authoress: //squeals// I missed writing so much!!! I'm so sorry for taking so long to put up a new chapter, but between school and everything, it has been hard to find enough time to sit down and really plan out what is going to happen between these two! And, I have to admit, the development of Kakashi and Iruka's characters has gone pretty well …it's so hard to imagine what kind of personal hell Kakashi's putting himself through or how Iruka feels when he _knows_ that he is forgetting something about Kakashi, but I think I've done a pretty good job so far. So, anyways, until next time…ja ne!! And don't forget to review so I know what to focus more on next chapter!!!


	3. Returning Home

Authoress: I'm sooooo sorry for not updating sooner!!! I've been so busy with all kinds of med-school stuff that I haven't had much of a chance to write…but I'll make up for months of not updating with a chapter to end all chapters!!...well, maybe not…but we'll get closer to that chapter we are all waiting for…when Kakashi and Iruka meet again!!

Disclaimer:…if only…

**Chapter Two**

Iruka let out a soft sigh as he closed his front door behind him, perhaps for the last time. Shifting the heavy pack on his back, he took a lingering glance back at the door, wondering if he would ever return home. Studying the door for the briefest of moments, he could not help but ponder if he would ever get the chance to repaint it like he had always wanted to. From all of Naruto's hasty entries, the door was worn and chipped around its pitifully tarnished door knob. He used to look at it as a sort of badge of merit – it reminded him of his small, but close family and all the things they had gone through together. Today, in many ways, just marked a new adventure in their lives. He was finally taking the jounin exams, though he still could not figure out why he felt so driven to become one. He knew the chances he would never return to this home were high. Even if he was able to pass all of the grueling tests in the coming months, he could still die in the final test. If by some chance he failed that final test, he would forever be stuck in that grey area between chuunin and jounin, but he would still be able to return home. Momentarily wondering what had put him on this almost suicidal mission to prove himself worthy of jounin status, Iruka found himself coming up with a blank.

A year ago, he could have cared less if he remained a chuunin for the rest of his life – he just wanted to teach his pre-genin students and live long enough to see Naruto grow up, pass his exams, and one day perhaps become Hokage. He never before wanted to strive to the almost unattainable – to become a true jounin, to have the opportunity to become an ANBU member or Hokage. He did not want nor need the respect or the additional responsibility that came with being a jounin. But there was something he could not put into words as to _why _he wanted to take the exam. It was almost as though he wanted to feel the sense of accomplishment…he wanted to prove himself to someone, though he could not place who he was doing all of this for. He was risking his life - his entire future - on a feeling that he _had _to take the exam and pass. Could it be possible that his urge to become a jounin was another thing that Mizutamari Mari somehow affected when he altered his memory? Though no one had ever admitted to, or even hinted at, Mizutamari Mari's interference, Iruka was now sure of it, as well as the fact that it had to have been Hatake Kakashi that he was forgetting, though he had no idea as to why. There were too many coincidences concerning the enigmatic jounin. Also, in the past few nights, Iruka had started having strange dreams. Though blurred and mostly forgotten by the time he awoke, he _knew _the jounin was in them. He could clearly recall, almost as though it had happened in real life, sitting at his kitchen table and talking to the man over a cup of tea. He could imagine the contours of Kakashi's face underneath the mask, as though his fingers had memorized every dip and mark the man was desperate to hide. Iruka could even now imagine the jounin hanging outside the academy or the Missions Office, waiting for him to get off of work so they could go out to dinner.

_Why would I forget being friends with Kakashi-sensei?_ Iruka wondered to himself. Despite all of his attempts to convince himself that those dreams were memories Mizutamari Mari had tried to suppress, they still felt foreign and impossible fantasies because a part of him still refused to believe they were real events. The more he tried to recall a time where he had forged a friendship with the silver-haired man, the harder it became to believe those dreams. The Kakashi he recalled while sleeping was one unlike any side of Kakashi that the man had ever shown before. He was intelligent, amusing, but above all kind and gentle. He was always willing to listen, ever understanding, and helpful whenever Iruka needed something. That was not the Kakashi that really existed, which only made Iruka all the more confused. Those dreams could not possibly be true because they showed a side of Kakashi that did not exist, but despite the flaws in them, they felt _right_. _I'm losing my mind_, Iruka thought as he took a deep breath. If he could keep his mind off matters concerning Kakashi, he could hopefully concentrate enough on the jounin exams to pass, since a moment of unawareness would be all that was needed for him to fail…or die.

--

Iruka slowly entered the large, loud room that already was filled with chuunin whose ages, nationalities, and features varied so greatly, his head began spinning. It had been a long time since he was in such a situation and, with a smile, Iruka recalled his chuunin exam. Though a great deal less stressful, Iruka had those same butterflies in his stomach then as he did now. Walking around the large room which had rows upon rows of desks crammed into it, Iruka finally found an empty place. Quickly sitting down before someone else took the vacant seat, Iruka placed his things on the floor next to him as though he was marking his territory. So long as others knew how far his personal space extended, Iruka hoped to not get into any altercations like those he had during his chuunin exam. He could clearly recall when some other genin had thrown him from his desk, claiming that the "pipsqueak" had stolen his spot. Wholly untrue, Iruka had tried to tell one of the proctors that the seat had been unoccupied, but no one was willing to believe such a young tester, especially one of Iruka's small stature and kind disposition. Unwilling to fight the older, taller, and quite frankly scarier shinobi, Iruka had given him the seat and had opted to take his test on the floor because all other available seats were taken by then. Despite the hard floor and uncomfortable position Iruka had to sit in so that he could write, he was still the first to finish. To this day, Iruka was proud of getting every question right without needing to cheat like other students. He knew that his ability to answer the difficult questions was not the point of the test, but Iruka prided himself in never cheating – a characteristic that he had maintained to this day.

"Iruka-sensei!" Turning when he heard someone exclaim his name in surprise, Iruka's eyes widened when he saw a number of his graduated students walking towards him. Smiling at the group of teens, Iruka waved and was surprised to see other test takers giving the small teens a wide berth despite their young age and small frames.

"Shikamaru-kun, Neji-kun, Lee-kun, how are all of you doing?" Iruka asked as he studied the three, surprised to see Neji and Lee at the testing. He had heard from Shikamaru's beaming father that his son was the youngest chuunin being accepted into the jounin exams this year, which did not surprise Iruka at all. The boy was a certified genius and was the only person to have passed last year's chuunin exam. After the exam, however, the village elders had gotten together and reconsidered their rules on the exams and allowed several of the highest placing genins to take something of a make-up test. That decision resulted in a number of genins being promoted, including Neji, Lee, Sakura, and the three Sabaku siblings. When Naruto had heard about the test, he cursed Jiraiya with such crude language that even the novelist blushed. Because of their distance from the village, the elders had not even considered Naruto as a possible applicant to the second test, despite the fact he could have been transported back to the village in a matter of seconds. Iruka and others who had a soft spot for Naruto knew it was the only thing the elders could do in their mission to keep Naruto from being promoted. They seemed to still think that he was unworthy of such an honor because he was a demon container.

"Good, Iruka-sensei," Lee replied, giving a pose that reminded Iruka so much of Gai that the brunet had to bite back a snort of laughter. Lee was young enough that his antics were slightly cute…Gai's were unnerving. "Gai-sensei said you would be testing this year…yosh!"

Iruka could only nod his head and look away from the bright smile Lee flashed him, but he apparently did not move fast enough because he could clearly see spots when he blinked. Trying to ignore the purplish spots in his vision, Iruka studied the three boys. They, much like him, had slung large packs over their shoulders despite the directions in their scrolls to pack only the necessities. Iruka always believed that it was safer to be overly prepared and taught his students to think the same way. Nodding at the lesson all three teens had taken from his classes, Iruka was surprised to see the three take seats around him. For whatever reason, the desks that were once occupied around Iruka had mysteriously cleared, giving the boys room to stretch out as they started unpacking their bags, revealing writing utensils and paper. Shikamaru also unpacked enough food to feed a small army and, from the curious glance he got from Iruka, he saw reason to explain. "Choji helped me pack. He has thought up of a jutsu to pack food in impossibly small places…" Under his breath, he added, "you should see what he stuffed in my pockets…"

As he thought about the lazy teen's comment, Iruka chuckled. His old students certainly were an interesting group of shinobi. They had not only mastered the abilities passed down through their families, but they had expanded on those abilities in order to make them their own. Iruka could not help but feel a swell of pride in knowing that they used those abilities to help one another out of friendship and camaraderie instead of selfishly hiding their jutsu like he did. Iruka never hid his abilities so that others could not benefit from them, but because he was afraid of being discovered for what he was…he was afraid of being hated for what he had become.

"Are you ready for the tests, Iruka-sensei?" Neji asked as his pale eyes focused on his old teacher. Glancing at the Hyuuga Branch Family member, Iruka realized one of the reasons other chuunin were giving the teens a wide berth. Anyone who was unfamiliar with his activated Byakugan would certainly be unsettled, but Iruka felt none of that, having taught the boy and his two cousins for years. What Iruka did wonder about, however, was why Neji had his Byakugan activated. They were not allowed to cheat during this test, so the boy's eyes would not be at all helpful. Of course, from the way Neji was watching him, Iruka had the feeling that his Bloodline Limit was not active because of the test.

Neji studied Iruka up and down several times, trying to make sense of what he was able to see. Never before had he caught even a hint of how _wrong_ Iruka's chakra pathways were, but he had never scrutinized the pre-genin teacher in such a way before. He had never had the mastery of his Byakugan when in the academy and, having just recently gained his newfound abilities, he had not seen Iruka long enough to observe him as he was doing now. Starting to understand why he had felt a sense of foreboding when he had walked into the exam room, Neji could only follow those darkened pathways with his eyes, trying to make sense of the unusual web-like design Iruka's chakra was making. The way the man's chakra pulsed…how it seemed to shield him completely…it was inhuman. Neji had never seen anything like it before. The closest he could come to comparing Iruka to another person would be when he saw a demon container being taken over by their other side…when Naruto or Gaara lost control. Iruka, however, seemed to be completely calm…perfectly in control of the dark, evil-feeling chakra that raced through him.

_What are you, Iruka-sensei?_ Neji asked himself as he studied the chuunin, momentarily deactivating his Byakugan so he could look at Iruka as he was used to. The brunet looked no different and every instinct Neji had told him that the man sitting less than a foot away from him was his old pre-genin teacher, but something was different about Iruka.

"Wouldn't it be so youthful if we are a team for the second exam!?" Lee abruptly broke the uncomfortable silence that had arisen because of the strange looks being exchanged between Neji and Iruka. Neji glanced away from their old teacher and raised an eyebrow at his teammate's comment. The format of the test was supposed to be a secret, but Gai had told them that they would be at a disadvantage if they did not know, so he had explained the test to the best of his knowledge. From the looks on Shikamaru and Iruka's faces, they had similarly been told the contents of the jounin exams. Both, however, looked slightly surprised at hearing the possibility that they would be put on a team together. Then again, the teams were almost always made up of people from the same village and were from the same age group if it was possible. Glancing around the room, Neji saw a number of chuunin who had to be around Iruka's age and would be better candidates for his teammates. Furrowing his eyebrows for a moment, Neji glanced back at Iruka, trying to remember how old the brunet was, but could not recall a number. _That is strange…_Neji thought to himself, wondering why he would have never learned of Iruka's age despite all the years of being taught by the soft-spoken chuunin. Could it be something else Iruka had been hiding, much like his strange chakra? Looking at the brunet, Neji tried to determine Iruka's age by looks alone, but could not seem to come up with a number. With one look, he would say Iruka was in his early thirties, but when he studied Iruka longer, he would drop that number down to his mid-twenties. As he focused on Iruka's face, Neji discovered what was throwing him off; Iruka's eyes were filled with wisdom that generally only came with age. It was as though, when looking in those soft brown eyes, he was seeing old eyes developed over several lifetimes of hardship. Whatever had caused Iruka to age so much – to mature so quickly – must have been a terrible event or time in his life.

"How old are you, Iruka-sensei?" Neji asked quietly, as he leaned closer to the chuunin. His curiosity was not assuaged, however, because as Iruka was opening his mouth, a hush came over the room and almost all eyes went towards the front of the room, where there was a towering figure that Neji clearly recalled from his chuunin exams.

"I am Ibiki and I will be the proctor for the first exam. The test is composed of a number of short answer and essay questions, all of which must be correct for you to pass on to the next part of the test. There will be no leaving this room until the test is complete, which will take between fifteen and twenty hours. After twenty hours, if you do not finish, you will automatically fail. If you are caught cheating, you will fail. If you speak, you fail. If you stretch or move around in your chair more than necessary, you will fail. There will be no food or drink at your desks and each person is allowed only one pencil and a single sharpener. All weapons, packs, and other equipment will be placed in the front of the room and will not be picked up until after the test is over. Do you best on this test, because you will not get another chance to take it." Iruka heard several intakes of breath, which told him some people had not been given the entire description of the test. The first part of the exam was the one area where, if you failed and did not continue on, you had the chance to take the jounin exam one more time. Passing this first test meant there was no turning back, automatically placing you in the pseudo-jounin rank without a chance of retaking the test in the future. Only passing the rest of the exam on a person's first try could promote them to a true jounin.

Iruka realized years ago that Ibiki just liked to scare and otherwise torture people simply because he could, so he could understand the reason for the man's white lie. Iruka smirked as there was a rush of people moving to the front to deposit their belongings, some being stupid enough to stick an extra pencil or two in their pockets before returning to their seats. Almost as soon as those people sat back down, they were tapped on the shoulder by Ibiki or one of other jounin circling the room and the jounin pointed towards the door. Those who actually argued were bodily thrown from the room, but most just dropped their head and left without another word.

Waiting until the last of the chuunin had returned to their seats, Iruka got up and placed his pack in the front, disarmed himself, and otherwise removed any belongings other than the clothes on his back, a single sharpened pencil, and a small sharpener. Momentarily studying his pack at the top of the pile, he was sure he would easily be able to find it after the test and where it had no chance of being crushed by far heavier bags. He had a number of fragile items in his pack that, even with his masterful packing, would certainly break if beneath a mountain of heavy bags. Walking back to his seat, Iruka was glad to see he was able to stretch out a little bit since his old students had slid their desks farther apart due to the loss of a number of chuunin already caught cheating.

Iruka waited until Ibiki had passed his desk before smiling up at the man. Ibiki, in response, cracked an almost imperceptible smirk as he placed a thick packet on Iruka's desk. Iruka did not have to hear the words, but he could tell from the jounin's eyes that Ibiki was wordlessly saying 'good luck,' though Iruka was confident he did not need it. Once Ibiki reached the front of the room and turned around, he glanced up at the clock and, without another word, wrote down the time, thus marking the beginning of the test.

Iruka took a deep breath, determining when the test would be over so that he could pace himself. Glancing down at the first page of the test, Iruka already felt a headache coming on. The mere wording of the question in front of him made no sense, but he had worked at the Missions Office for so long, he knew that the jounin community had a terrible understanding of grammar and, of course, they would be the ones who made up the written test. Thankfully, however, Iruka was able to quickly decode the question because of his years of translating hastily written mission reports and was surprised to discover that the question – when he was able to understand what was being asked – was quite simple. Judging from the degree of horrendous grammar, Iruka knew it had to have been Asuma asking for a detailed account of the destruction of the Hidden Village of the Fog and how the disaster could have been avoided.

Once he had finished lightly penciling in his answer, Iruka glanced over his quickly written paragraph, seeing that he was just barely able to read his response. It was still legible however, so he could only laugh at his revenge on the jounin for making him read their badly written reports all these years. A whole test like this would have to be torture for them, but Iruka knew that one pencil was far from enough lead to fill out the entire test, so he would have to do his best to write lightly and stretch his single pencil as far as it would go. He had not started to think of a way to finish the test without any lead and momentarily promised not to start worrying about it until the time came. He had other, more important things to think about.

Flipping over to the next page, Iruka could see that Anko had a hand in writing the test as well. No other jounin he knew was such a master in trajectory calculations that she could give a badly drawn picture and ask for an explanation as to how it was possible for a shuriken to hit a target dead-center from seven hundred meters away when there was what looked like an entire forest between the stick-figure shinobi and the bulls-eye drawn at the top of the page, given that it was raining, there was no wind, and the shinobi could not move from his fixed position in order to get a better shot. He had trained with the kunoichi enough to know exactly where she had pulled the question from. For her birthday, Iruka had given Anko a book of challenging shots in beer shuriken and one of them sounded very similar to this question – of course, she turned the beer bottle into a target. Anko had tried the shot multiple times, only to discover that she could not get the shot, so she had deemed it to be impossible. The distance was too far to rebound the shuriken off of tree branches and there were too many variables to duplicate the shot if she had actually been able to succeed in hitting the target at all. Iruka had to smile, however, since he had figured out the trick of the shot almost as soon as he had read it when she had come over to his apartment, cursing him in a very drunken voice for getting her a drinking book.

Quickly drawing out the line between the shooter and the target in a bit more detail, Iruka drew a stick figure that had a skirt and top quite similar to his ex's and, with all of the art skill of a five-year old, gave the stick figure Anko's hair and drew a stick in her mouth. What Anko had never realized about beer shuriken was that anything went if it was not specifically ruled out. Not once in the entire question was using chakra and jutsu forbidden, which Iruka took full advantage of as he explained that, with a powerful enough ball of chakra – something that was as concentrated as a Rasengan or a Chidori, but far less powerful, would work perfectly – it would be easy to blast away the tree branches, leaving a clean shot to the target. Laughing to himself, Iruka wondered what Anko would think of his answer and how many other chuunin would come up with similar answers. He had a feeling, however, that there would be quite a few trying to determine the physics behind the shot, only to give themselves migraines trying to compute all the variables, angles, and velocities needed to only discover the shot was physically impossible. With a quick glance over to Shikamaru, Iruka could see the genius was scribbling away, a furrow forming between his eyes as he was starting to realize his numbers were not coming out right.

He hated to laugh at the boy's situation, but Iruka had to admit to himself that it was sometimes a good thing he was not a genius of Shikamaru's standing. Anyone with that kind of intellect would certainly over-think the question until he was sure something in his formulas was fundamentally wrong. Continuing with his test, Iruka flipped to the next page and found that even Gai had a hand in this year's test. Judging from the artfully drawn human figure, Anko had been the illustrator for the test – her previous drawings must have been done so to give those like Shikamaru even more of a headache as they tried to figure out what kind of trees were illustrated and at what angles she had drawn them so they could be sure of their extensive formulas. Iruka could not help but smirk at the deviousness of the jounin who had made up the test. Quickly filling in the blanks that were pointing at various small aspects of the human anatomy, Iruka found his lessons with Gai – who did have a tendency of pointing out his own muscles – exceedingly helpful. He looked over at Lee only for a moment and from the smile on Lee's face, he had those same lectures from Gai – and he had apparently seen the simplicity behind Anko's last question.

The next several pages, much like the first few, had to first be translated from what Iruka liked to call jounin-ese into something resembling an actual language, but unlike the first pages, Iruka could not place which jounin the question had come from and, as a result, the questions were harder for him to understand, let alone answer. As he went on, Iruka lost count of how many times he had sharpened the dwindling pencil in his hand, which had started to ache about half way through the test. He was sure that that pain had taken hold of other chuunin much faster simply because they were not accustomed to writing as often, or as much, as he was because of where he worked. That ache, after a few hours, had diminished until Iruka could feel nothing in his right hand. Every once in a while, he had to glance over just to make sure he was still holding the pencil. Within eight hours of the test, that pencil was starting to look like just a metal cap and an eraser from all the times he had sharpened it, but as Iruka looked back down at his test, he could see that he still had a good third of the test to go. Furrowing his eyebrows, he flipped back through the pages of the test, making sure he had written as lightly as possible to conserve lead. Though his handwriting had become progressively worse both due to fatigue and the fact he had no feeling in his hand, his pale marks had not darkened throughout the test. Iruka sighed as he looked back at his pencil and tried to think of a way he could finish the test with the small bit of pencil he had left.

This problem, unlike a number of the questions on the test, was not one that had a simple answer. There was no plausible way he could get the little bit of lead to last through the next two pages, much less the rest of the test. Glancing down at his desk, Iruka eyed the sharpener, which was now useless because the pencil was worn away to nothing. Taking the small box in his hand, he quickly broke the brightly colored plastic away from the two sharpened blades, making sure to make no noise or quick movements that would bring the proctors over to his desk. Looking down at the two pieces of metal, Iruka curiously picked one up and pricked his finger with the tip, but before his finger even had the chance to bleed, the wound healed itself thanks to Mizutamari Mari's protective jutsu. Iruka rolled his eyes, wishing for once the kappa had removed that jutsu years ago when the fear of him committing suicide had passed. Wishing, however, would not help him finish the test on time, so Iruka quickly thought of an alternative way of completing the test. Taking the smaller blade, Iruka cut into the eraser of the pencil, which he had been careful to use only when completely necessary. Thanking whatever deity existed that he had the sense to conserve his eraser as well, Iruka quickly dug the bottom end of the triangular blade into the eraser, creating a makeshift EXACTO knife. He had seen more than one of his students use that style of knife in projects when they needed to cut precise lines, which had given the idea in the first place. Testing the knife out on the bottom of the page he was currently working on, Iruka found that with the right amount of pressure, he was able to indent the paper just enough to make his marks visible. With a little bit of practice as he worked on the history question, Iruka quickly adapted his writing to work with the knife, finding his idea worked wonderfully so long as the proctors did not mind reading very angular characters, since curves were all but impossible with the knife.

Letting out a sigh of relief as he realized he had found a way around the potential disaster of being unable to complete the test, Iruka continued with the rest of the test, finding the questions varied quite a bit in subject, difficulty, and style. As Iruka finally flipped to the last page of the test, he found himself furrowing his eyebrows. It was the first question he had found to be written with perfect grammar, which immediately made him wonder what jounin could have possibly written it. No matter what the village, as soon as a shinobi hit the rank of jounin, they seemed to forget any grammar skills they learned since childhood. Impressed, Iruka reread the question several times, but still kept coming up with the same blank. He could not think of an answer to the question not because there was no way to answer it, but because of his opinion.

_What is the best way to deal with a demon?_

The question, short in its wording, left a great deal to argue. If the demon was dangerous, it did not make it necessarily evil. And, if not evil, did the demon actually have to be "dealt" with? If the demon was not at all dangerous or destructive, it could be harmless to a village by leaving them in peace and, if a village was lucky enough to find a good demon – those of which were exceedingly rare – they may be able to gain the demon's protection, which would assure the village's safety and security for many generations. Most demons, however, were neutral, which gave into the possibility of bartering with them to be protectors, to remain neutral, or to even leave if the village felt as though they were still in danger. Iruka sat back in his seat momentarily, ignoring the fact he could no longer feel anything from the waist down, thinking about the question. If anyone else read the question, they would automatically assume the demon being discussed was evil, dangerous, and had to be taken care of, whether that be by killing it, getting it to leave, or in some cases, containing it. Narrowing his gaze as he looked over the short statement again, Iruka started thinking back on earlier questions, starting to see a pattern in the questions asked on the exam. Smirking, he leaned forwards and his hand began racing across the paper as he poured out his opinion on how there were different types of demons and how they should be treated.

As he reached the section where he planned to discuss evil demons, Iruka lowered his makeshift knife and took a deep breath. Picking up his writing implement, Iruka explained how there was no real way to deal with evil demons if they could not be made to leave. Killing them was almost impossible, taking far too many human lives along with theirs. Containing them was an even worse method, Iruka claimed, because it takes the life away from an innocent person, most often a newborn child. Imagining Naruto, Gaara, and others like them, Iruka winced in understanding. He had seen the barely contained hatred of the villagers towards his adopted son – a feeling Naruto had done nothing to deserve. He was a sweet child who loved unconditionally despite how he was treated by most people. Iruka could only imagine what he had been like if he had been a normal child – if he had true friends growing up…if he had a family other than another child who had to had been forced to grow up too early just so they could survive. Iruka could remember those first years clearly. He was too stubborn and far too proud to accept anyone's charity. His parents' friends offered more than once to take him in and adopt him as their own, but Iruka could only glare at them and yell that he had parents and no one could ever take their place. Even the Sandaime asked if Iruka wanted to live with him, but Iruka smiled at the old man and said that he was doing fine on his own. Living in a small flat above the apothecary shop, Iruka remembered working every afternoon to late evening after getting home from the academy so he could make enough money to feed himself and the small baby he left in the care of Anko's father while he was in school. He had developed his trickster attitude because he wanted to be expelled in the worst way, but the Sandaime forced him to go to school every day, even if it meant throwing Iruka over one shoulder and not letting him go until he had tied Iruka down to his chair in his classroom every morning. Back then, he cursed the old man for making him go when he could be working for money, but he now thanked the man for forcing him to go to school every day.

Naruto never complained about that time in their lives, perhaps because he could not remember it or even because he knew that Iruka regretted it. He had always wanted a better life for Naruto when the blonde was a small child, but because of his own young age, it was almost impossible for him to get a job where his income was enough to pay for both of them. It was a godsend when the Sandiame helped him get his job at the academy after graduation, first as a substitute, then finally as a real teacher, even though his students were mere years younger than him. Few people realized how young he was when he started his job teaching because he had gone through puberty earlier than most, perhaps because his body somehow knew he had to grow up quickly or else he wouldn't survive. His years of working for a living, of finding a way to provide for both Naruto and himself, had also aged him faster than time ever could. By fourteen, most people assumed Iruka to be in his mid-twenties.

Iruka closed his eyes, which had begun to ache both because of the strain of writing so long as well as the emotions running through him. He had lost all the family he had ever know – had given up any chance at a normal childhood – because of a demon, but he still could not agree with what they had done to the Kyuubi. He knew she was not evil, just misunderstood. And as for Naruto, that sweet blonde was the last person deserving of such a burden. Iruka took a shaky breath as he opened his eyes again, discovering that he had been writing as he recalled the past. His thoughts – his pain of a childhood with no innocence – were etched clear as day on the pale piece of parchment, unable to be erased or covered by the lie that would agree with popular thought – that Naruto somehow deserved the curse he had grown up with, that the Kyuubi needed to be contained in the body of a blonde human for the rest of his life where she could constantly see how her presence harmed her kind-hearted container until he had started to become callused to jeers, taunts, and outright curses flung at him wherever he went. Taking another breath, Iruka slowly put the knife down with a shaking hand. Swallowing the ball of tears that threatened to emerge from recalling his painful past, Iruka stood up, wincing when he heard his chair scratch against the floor. Almost every head moved, every pair of eyes focusing on him, as Iruka walked to the front of the room and handed a wide-eyed Ibiki his test. The jounin had a look of concern on his heavily scarred face, but Iruka did his best to not look the torture expert in the eye as he turned to leave the room. For a moment, Iruka's eyes widened when he saw how many vacant seats there were. He had been so busy with his own test, he had not realized how many chuunin had either left or been removed from the exam. Where there were once several hundred chuunin packed into the room, now there were only about one hundred. Quickly getting over the surprise of how many chuunin had already failed the test, Iruka all but fled from the room.

"Iruka!" He did not even reach the end of the hallway before he heard Ibiki calling him. For a moment, Iruka considered ignoring the man, but knew better than to do so. He was not a rude person and Iruka also had the feeling that Ibiki would still track him down, no matter what Iruka tried to do to hide somewhere for the next few hours as he tried to get the ache to leave his chest.

Turning around slowly, Iruka forced a smile on his face as he watched Ibiki take a few long strides forwards in order to reach him. Without warning, the tall jounin pulled Iruka against his chest, almost lifting Iruka off of the floor with his monstrous strength. Iruka felt the wind being knocked out of him as Ibiki crushed him in a tight hug. "Ibi…ki…can't…brea…the…" Iruka gasped as he tried to hit his way out of the jounin's grasp, but found his arms pinned down in Ibiki's vice-like embrace.

"Oh…" Ibiki quickly loosened his hold, gently putting Iruka back down on his heels, before stepping back and looking over the chuunin. Studying Iruka this closely, Ibiki could see how he had never before realized how harsh Iruka's life had been on him. Eyes he had always known were filled with wisdom far beyond his years, Ibiki now knew to be full of wisdom someone his age should never know and with pain and hardship no one should ever have to deal with. "I'm sorry, Iruka…"

"For what?" Iruka asked softly, wondering what Ibiki could possibly be apologizing for. He had already accepted the torture expert's heartfelt apology for hating Iruka and being insanely jealous of him the past six months because of his farce of a relationship with Anko. Raising an eyebrow, Iruka had a feeling that was not what Ibiki was apologizing for now.

"I never knew…" Ibiki replied softly, his voice filled with emotion as he pulled a thick roll of parchment from a back pocket. It took a single glance for Iruka to recognize it as his exam. Sighing, Iruka wished he had a way to change his answer. He did not like opening up and discussing his past with others. They always seemed to pity him when they knew he was an orphan and that his only family was the most despised person in the village.

"It is alright, Ibiki…" Iruka said reflexively. He never wanted anyone's pity, much less their sympathy. No one could possibly understand how it felt to be orphaned, and then become the father, brother, and best friend of the container of the demon that caused his parents' death. He never once blamed Naruto for the death of his family; he never resented the child. The demon that Naruto contained, however, was another matter. She may have not been evil, but the Kyuubi was the reason he had no family…she made it possible for him to say he was the last of the Umino clan. For that, he could never forgive her.

"No…it is not," Ibiki responded immediately. "I lost most of my family when I was a child…I could not imagine growing up without the few relatives I had left…to have such a burden…such responsibility…at such a young age." Ibiki pulled Iruka into another hug; this one, however, was much gentler, giving Iruka the ability to breathe and keep his feet firmly planted on the ground. "I don't know how you turned out as you did…" Seeing the slight raise of Iruka's eyebrow, he elaborated, "kind, understanding…patient."

Iruka could not help but smile at the giant's observation. Very few people knew about the other side of him…the dark side that he did his best to hide away, the side that he only fed when he let his trickster self through…when he let himself taste the sweetness of vengeance. It was a side that he knew how to control under most circumstances, but Iruka still was afraid of the one time he may slip and unleash the part of him that even frightened him. What kind of damage could he do if he was unable to control that darkness…that evil? Would he still be able to recognize the people he loved, like Naruto and his friends? Would he be able to even remember that he _had_ friends and family? Iruka shivered at the thought of being completely losing control of himself, especially around those he cared for. Iruka did not want to find out he could not curb his power when facing a loved one – he would do anything in his power to keep such a situation from arising…even if it meant stopping himself in the only way he knew how. He could only hope that letting loose the full extent of his abilities would break the protective jutsu Mizutamari Mari put on him years ago.

--

Neji almost jumped back when he felt Lee bodily throw himself on him, letting out loud cries that grated on his ears. Wincing at his teammate's high pitched whining, Neji did his best to ignore Lee until the taller teen was able to speak at least several octaves down. Exhausting himself with all of his blubbering, Lee only managed to fall limp on Neji, resting his head on Neji's shoulder as he took several deep breaths to calm himself.

"How did you test go?" Neji asked softly, hoping he had given Lee enough time to compose himself. Seeing his friend's eyes fill up with tears out of his peripheral vision, Neji momentarily sent up a prayer that Lee would keep his voice down this time while wondering why on earth he was friends with the awkward, loud, and obnoxious mini-Gai.

"…the first question was not for people of our youthfulness," Lee pouted, his lower lip trembling as he looked to Neji for understanding. Though the question referred to a time long before they were even born, Neji had heard about the fall of the Village of Fog time and again in his history lessons, so he had no idea what Lee was talking about. "How could we know their mindset…how can we be sure that our ideas could have saved them?!"

"Baka…" Neji rolled his eyes as he let his head tip back and rest against the wall he was sitting against. There were a few questions he himself was unsure of, but he would not admit that to Lee, who saw him as a know-it-all. He hated to admit it, but he wished he had not become so good at tuning out Gai-sensei when he went into one of his anatomy lessons. He was sure he made up a few muscles, but he could only hope the spelling was close enough that the jounin grading their tests would accept it.

"Shikamaru-kun! How did you do?!" Lee's customary energy returned in full-force as he got up in a whirl of spandex to run to the brunet and wait for the lazy teen to answer. Neji almost chuckled as he noticed the similarities between Lee and a faithful dog. He was best friends with the boy, but even he had to admit that Lee was sometimes like a hyper, overly inquisitive canine in need of constant attention.

"That second question…" Shikamaru mumbled as he slid down the wall to crumble into a pile next to Neji. The two older teens looked at each other with raised eyebrows before glancing back down at the ranting boy. He was talking so quietly and so rapidly, Neji was only able to catch a word here and there and, from what he could piece together, Shikamaru was going over complex physics formulas in order to figure out where his calculations went wrong. "I had to make up an answer…"

"…you could have blown a hole to the target with your youthful spirit," Lee pointed out as he struck a pose that reminded Neji of Gai's Youthful Pose 212, the stance he normally used when trying to explain how at least one member of the team was wrong because they were not thinking "youthfully."

"…eh?" Shikamaru turned to look at Lee with wide eyes. He then turned to look at Neji with, if it was possible, even wider eyes. Neji simply shrugged his shoulders as he tried to recall how he had answered the question.

"I wrote that I would use a doppelganger. I would not have moved at all…my double could easily walk through the forest and put a shuriken in the center of the target," Neji replied, his speech slowing as he realized he had given a different answer than Lee. Due to the sixteen hours of writing and wracking his brain for answers, Neji's comprehension of the world around him was slowed to the point it was almost nonexistent.

"…whose answer was right?" Shikamaru asked as he watched the two teens give each other looks of confusion. All three exchanged glances, silently thinking over whose answer was most plausible, but all they could come up with was that the question itself was ridiculous. No one would be aiming at a target that far away with so many branches between them and their target.

Quickly glancing around, Neji caught a glimpse of their pre-genin teacher and found himself wondering what the first person out of the test had put down as an answer. It could not have been Iruka-sensei did out the math, since not even Shikamaru could get the numbers to work even after using the full twenty hours. Flagging the brunet down, the three teens looked at him with hopeful eyes and Iruka could not help but feeling a little scared by their expressions.

"How did the test go, boys?" he asked, but he could already tell how their tests had gone from the mixtures of confusion and despair hidden behind that hope in their eyes. He squatted down in front of the three, leaning in so that they could hear him whisper. "Don't worry about the answers."

"What did you put for the second question?" Shikamaru asked hesitantly, hoping Iruka found the shot to be physically impossible. The teacher gave him a smile, somehow knowing what direction Shikamaru had taken with the problem. Hoping that that meant he had been right, for the first time since leaving the test room, Shikamaru started feeling confident that he had passed.

"Clear a path between you and the target," Iruka said with a smile. Seeing how Shikamaru's face dropped, Iruka chuckled. "Don't worry…there were too many variables for it to be possible to rebound the shuriken."

"Iruka-sensei…what did you mean by not worrying about the answers?" Neji asked as he narrowed his eyes as he watched the chuunin. The way Iruka held himself as though he didn't have a care in the world made Neji wonder what he knew that they didn't.

"Just don't wor-" was all Iruka was able to get out before a loud _bang_ echoed the crowded halls of the academy. Glancing up, anyone could see Ibiki towering a head over even the tallest of chuunin. He surveyed the remaining chuunin, nodding at the number of people remaining. Gesturing for everyone to return, Ibiki returned to the front of the room.

Lee, Neji, and Shikamaru silently filed into the room, making sure to take seats near Iruka on the off-chance they could get more answers out of him – or at least a clarification of his earlier statement. What kind of teacher would tell you not to worry about the answers to a test when a single wrong answer would mean instant failure?

"Congratulations on finishing the test. There is one final question I have before we grade these papers. We have no urge to grade papers only to find one question wrong, so if anyone made up an answer, lied in any way while answering, knowingly left out part of the explanation to a question, or did not finish the entire test and still handed it in, I will only ask you once to leave before we begin grading. If we do find that you are wasting our time, the punishment will be far greater than you can imagine," Ibiki threatened, his booming, deep voice sending shivers down every chuunin's back. Neji glanced over to the two young chuunin near him and could see the fear in their eyes, which he knew to be reflected in his own. This was not like the chuunin exam where Ibiki's threats were just tests of mettle. The jounin exam was built to weed out those unworthy of becoming a jounin. Anyone who lied or could not answer such questions would certainly not be deserving of the promotion, but Neji could not help but bite his lip in confusion. He had been sure he was ready for the jounin exams, only to find out he could not even pass the first test because of a few simple anatomy questions. Shikamaru could not pass on because he was, in a way, _too_ smart and used that intelligence to over-think questions. Lee, too, would fail if his paper was graded because he understood how time changed everything, how history put its own opinions and observations on the past. And then there was Iruka-sensei, who seemed to know something they didn't.

Neji glanced around, watching as a number of chuunin walked up to the front of the room, giving Ibiki their names so that he would know which tests to throw out before grading. Breathing deeply, he took a quick glance at Lee and Shikamaru before moving to stand up. He froze almost as soon as his numb rear left his seat, however, when he felt something brush against his arm. Looking down, he saw Iruka was holding his sleeve, ever so gently tugging him back down. The pressure of his hand was so light, Neji was certain no one else would believe Iruka was even touching him, let alone pulling him back into his seat before he fully stood up. Once the teacher saw that he had captured Neji's attention, he almost imperceptibly shook his head, his eyes telling Neji that the Hyuuga would regret going up to Ibiki. As he sat back down, surprising Lee and Shikamaru so much that the two did not move from their seats, Neji furrowed his eyebrows. Trying to think of a reason for Iruka wanting him to get in trouble with the torture expert for lying, Neji could only recall what Iruka had said before reentering the room: _Don't worry about the answers_.

_I hope you know what you are doing, Iruka-sensei_ was all Neji could think of as he watched far older and wiser chuunin leave the room, their heads hung in defeat. He prayed that the brunet had somehow figured out a way to save Neji, Lee, and Shikamaru when it came to grading their tests, since there was no chance every one of their answers were correct. Too many of the questions were opinionated for _any_one to be sure they got a perfect score. Eyes widening slightly, Neji started to understand Iruka's earlier statement.

_We don't have to worry because there really weren't any right or wrong answers…_

--

"Kazekage-sama!" Kakashi winced when he heard someone calling out Gaara's title. He would remember that high-pitched voice for years to come…he already had nightmares where that voice and two others haunted him. The small redhead turned around, despite Kakashi's glaring, and his sea-green eyes widened slightly when he realized how close the kunoichi was. "Kakashi-sensei!"

Without any other warning, Kakashi felt a small body latch itself to his side. Glancing down, all he could see was bubblegum pink and he felt those nightmares coming back in full force. Six months was nowhere near long enough to repair his sanity; that girl and her teammates had made him feel like he was going crazy more often than not and, if his hair was not already a distinguished shade of silver, he would claim the three and their antics gave him grey hairs.

"Sakura-chan," Kakashi finally said, acknowledging the girl as he none-too-gently tried to pry her off of his midsection. Finally getting the hint, Sakura let go and took a step back so she could look at her old teacher. Her eyes widened as she took the image of her teacher in. Without his customary uniform on, it was hard enough to recognize him as her teacher, but the added effects of wearing the billowing clothes of the desert and the darkened shade of his skin made him look quite unlike his old self. Even his visible eye looked different than she remembered. His eye did not hold any of that perverse humor it used to, but he did seem to look more comfortable…less on guard…than she remembered.

"I guess the desert agrees with you, Kakahsi-sensei!" Sakura commented happily as she took a better look at her teacher. He certainly had been getting quite a bit of sun if his bronze skin was anything to go by. Also, his old, form-fitting mask was gone, replaced by a loosely-wrapped off-white scarf. The scarf, made out of a gauzy material, was thick enough that Sakura could see none of his facial features, but far thinner than anything Kakashi used to be comfortable with. His Sharingan eye was no longer covered by a hitai-ate, but by a strip of material matching the scarf covering the lower half of his face. A deep red tunic, embroidered with the symbol of Suna, and dark, loose-fitting pants had replaced his green jacket and black uniform. Looking more closely, Sakura could see Kakashi's hitai-ate was almost completely hidden beneath the folds of the scarf around his neck. Studying him still, Sakura noticed another difference in her old teacher – his hair. Whereas she could clearly recall his unruly, spiked locks, his hair now was tightly tied back. A few wisps of silver had come loose from the tie at the back of his head, framing his masked face and making him seem harsher and more dangerous than Sakura remembered. She would admit it to no one, but his new look made Kakashi drop-dead gorgeous in her eyes and Sakura had the feeling most women, and a number of men, in the village would have to agree with her.

"Kakashi-san was made for our climate," Gaara responded softly as he gently nudged his bodyguard, hoping to get the quiet man to speak. He had seen how coming back to Konoha had already started affecting his friend, but Gaara saw this girl as an opportunity for Kakashi to start accepting his past mistakes. The pink-haired kunoichi certainly did not deserve to lose her genin teacher around the same time she lost both of her teammates.

"How was your trip here, Kazekage-sama?" Sakura asked politely, turning her attention to the village leader. It was hard to imagine a boy even younger than she was – and over a full head shorter than her – was the leader of an entire village. Sakura could not imagine what kind of pressure and responsibilities Gaara had to deal with daily, but, since having come under Tsunade's tutelage, she could start understanding how difficult his life was. He deserved her utmost respect not because of his title, but because of how he used that title. Sakura had heard stories of how Suna was being rebuilt from the bottom up under the direction of its new leader. The government was less corrupt, its people were being fed, and, above all, the villagers were slowly coming to trust their shinobi community and their demon-containing leader.

"It was fine," Gaara replied, quickly beginning to get the old feeling of inadequacy around other people, though it was nowhere near as powerful as it once was. He used to believe he was not worthy of being in their presence, let alone good enough to hold a conversation with them, because of the monster within. If they knew what he was, they treated him horrendously and for those who treated him like an actual human, Gaara could not shake the feeling he was lying to them in some way by not telling them what he was. In response to the horrible feeling in his gut, Gaara learned quickly to clam up, to stay silent because people then saw him as dark, brooding, and quite dangerous. They thought he was a monster and Gaara grew up believing that it was to be better to be perceived as evil than to have people see his insecurities. He learned the hard way from his father that any sign of emotion was a weakness that would only bring pain and, eventually, would prove fatal for him. Since the chuunin exams, however, those beliefs slowly started changing. Meeting another demon container, one who showed him that having a demon within did not make him evil, was what changed Gaara's mind. Naruto was walking proof that monsters like them could have friendships and that they love and be loved without fear of harming or even killing the most important people in their lives. That blonde, bumbling idiot changed Gaara's view on life – in a way, gave Gaara a chance at life – and, for that, the Kazekage knew he would do anything for Naruto. Taking a deep breath, Gaara continued speaking, "Long, but pleasant enough." A year ago, he would not have even been able to string his first sentence together because of his abysmal opinion of himself. Now, though it was still difficult, Gaara found himself opening up more and more every day. Each day, he strove to speak two or more sentences where, at one time, one or two terse words would have been acceptable in his mind. He already discovered it far easier to speak to his siblings and Kakashi than people he was not in so much contact with. Perhaps it was because they knew him in ways other people could never imagine, but Gaara was no longer afraid of them seeing every dark aspect of his character because he knew they would still accept him – they would still love them as they did now, no matter what he said or did.

"I am glad to hear that," Sakura quickly responded, smiling politely at the redhead. Sakura knew that she would have to tell Tsunade later about how Gaara had already begun changing for the better. She had never before heard the small leader speak a full sentence that did not end in a death threat, let alone trying to make small talk. "And your accommodations are to your liking?"

"They are quite acceptable," Gaara replied, momentarily giving Kakashi a glare that quickly told the jounin that he would be wise to make no comment about how close their lavish hotel rooms were to the home of a certain chuunin. Only once did Gaara ever slip up and admit his interest in the young man and, since then, he had been regretting his momentary weakness. Kakashi was somehow able to, with just one glance that others would see as innocent, make Gaara's face feel like it was on fire and for his body to tighten in uncomfortable ways. Yes, asking Kakashi about his strange dream was certainly a wrong decision on Gaara's part, but the small Kazekage could not imagine having such a conversation with his brother. It would have been far too awkward with Kankuro mocking his subconscious; Kakashi was bad enough.

"Tsunade-sama will be glad to hear it. She personally picked the hotel rooms…she said that you would appreciate the village's best onsen," Sakura replied with a smile. She had heard Tsunade talking to herself more than once and, putting the few bits and pieces together, knew exactly why the young man was being placed in one of the most expensive and, by far, the snootiest hotel in the village. Sakura would expect nothing less in prick-like behavior from a hotel that shared a massive natural onsen with the reclusive Hyuuga family. Despite its very selective reputation, Tsunade was adamant that Gaara had to stay at that particular hotel, though it was almost impossible for her to get a room. Even being Hokage did not help Tsunade in reserving the room – the hotel all but slammed their doors when she said that the Kazekage and his entourage would be the ones visiting. The only way the hotel miraculously had a vacancy, Sakura was sure, was due to a sweet brunette student of Tsunade's. Though Hinata said nothing about pulling some strings, she had a bit of a smile on her face when Tsunade found out that the hotel would be able to take Gaara as their most important guest who would be waited on hand and foot by the managers themselves.

"We will make sure to get use out of that onsen after meeting with Tsunade-sama," Kakashi stated, a bit of his old perversion returning as he leered momentarily at the Kazekage. Gaara, in response, glared daggers at him and, though the young man was desperately trying, and failing, to control his involuntary response, Kakashi could see an adorable pink tinge to his rounded cheeks.

"Oh…I'm supposed to take you to the Hokage…she decided to change your meeting place…something about showing you something you might find interesting," Sakura replied, glancing between the two men so much, neither was sure who was supposed to be interested by Tsunade's surprise. Without another word, the two followed Sakua. After a moment, Kakashi realized that they were making their way to the academy. Recalling his own jounin exams, Kakashi wondered if Tsunade was showing Gaara what the exams were comprised of and, more than likely, giving him a chance to watch the exams from behind the scenes. He had never before heard of a village leader allowing another leader to watch the first few parts of the exams because the exams were unique to each village and the only part anyone was ever allowed to watch was the final test. There was no other reason for all of this secrecy other than tradition. Then again, Tsunade was quite an unconventional character.

--

Tsunade sensed the immense presence of the Kazekage long before Sakura led him into the small room she was currently sitting in. As soon as she felt that ball of evil chakra enter, she looked up and could not help but momentarily stare at the small boy that contained all of that dark energy. Despite the evil Tsunade felt, she could not see the young man as anything other than the wonderful leader he was. Already he was starting to be hailed as a hero and saint for saving Suna from the violence and poverty that once defined it despite how the village had treated him throughout his childhood. He never wanted recognition or any show of gratitude for what he was doing – he simply wanted to be the best leader Suna had ever had. If only she had shinobi that selfless, she knew she wouldn't have such migraines all the time.

"Gaara!" Over the past few months of writing to the young man, Tsunade forged a strange relationship with him. It was not the strained, sometimes even painfully awkward and quiet, relations Tsunade had with other village leaders. It was hard to put into words; she saw the boy as her equal in power, intelligence and status, but he was still _so _young and something about his age made her look at him differently than other leaders. From his letters, Tsunade knew he needed the guidance anyone his age craved, but like so many others, he tried to hide that sense of being lost because he wanted to be considered an adult by everyone around him. Despite his attempts to hide his age and maturity by controlling his features and voice to show only the powerful leader he truly was, Gaara's youth showed through in his brief letters to Tsunade as clear as day. Unlike so many other leaders, he had not yet gained the wisdom and assuredness that comes with many, many years of life. So many people failed to notice this and treated him as though he was a man five or six times his age. They were not able to see the young boy striving to gain acceptance for himself and his actions. Some of his letters had a questioning tone, as though the boy was not sure that one decision he made would bring the result he originally thought it would. Tsunade smiled as she watched the redhead walk calmly into the room, carrying himself with the pride and strength any village leader naturally had. His eyes were not narrowed in anger like she remembered from the chuunin exams, but open and looking around with questioning glances. Smiling to herself, Tsunade knew that the fact Gaara was not hiding his curiosity, but openly showing it meant he was comfortable not only in her presence, but also at ease with who and what he was. Whatever happened to the boy in the past six months had somehow taught him more about himself than his entire life before. Perhaps it was because of meeting Naruto or failing his first chuunin exam or even Kakashi's presence in Suna – whatever had helped change Gaara, Tsunade was very grateful for.

"Tsunade-sama," the young man replied politely as he bowed. For a moment, Tsunade could only wonder where that haughty attitude of his went. Despite the relationship they had forged over months of writing letters, she had still expected a show of superiority – perhaps the tone of his voice or a glint to his eyes – but there was nothing of the demon-controlled boy left. Before her stood a young man who was in control of the monster within him and one who understood what it took to keep that demon under control.

Tsunade could only guess what kind of training Gaara had gone through to gain such discipline so quickly, but all it took was a glance to the boy's side to start understanding. Momentarily, her eyes widened as she got her first look at the Copy Cat Nin in over six months. Where six months ago, she had seen a broken, emotionally fragile shinobi, she now saw a true jounin – a shinobi so in control of himself and his emotions that he was unreadable. A true jounin was to be stoic, powerful, but most of all sure of himself and that was exactly what Tsunade could now see standing before her. No longer could Tsunade see the lazy, perverted man he made himself out to be. Now, all she saw was a shinobi fiercely loyal to the small boy at his side. There was no doubt in her mind that, if necessary, the jounin would give his life or take another's to protect the powerful redhead who was in no real need of a bodyguard. Even if it meant killing a fellow Konoha shinobi, Tsunade knew that for Kakashi there would be no hesitation. Glancing down at his chest and seeing the delicate hourglass sewn into his foreign outfit was like a knife to Tsunade's heart. He was no longer one of her best shinobi – he was Gaara's. Instead of coming to grips with what he had done like she had wanted him to, Kakashi had ignored it, hiding himself in a new life where he could remove anything that reminded him of his previous mistakes.

"Tsunade-sama." The once migraine-inducing man finally spoke as he, much like his master, bowed reverently. Recalling how the old Kakashi had always showed her a mockingly low level of respect as his eyes were glued to her chest, Tsunade had to blink her eyes before her vision began to blur. This man before her was no more the jounin of legend; he was not even a shell of him.

"Thank you for volunteering to be a proctor," Tsunade forced herself to say in a steady voice. She too had learned how to control her emotions, but that did not mean she refused to even feel them. Gesturing for the two men to approach her, Tsunade had to bite back a cry when the jounin came closer. He no longer even looked like the old Kakashi – his once pasty skin was a shocking bronze, his hair, once resembling a rat's nest, now gave him a rakish beauty. Even his visible eye had changed. It no longer held that perverse glint or that joking glimmer – it only revealed a mild hint of discomfort. What caused that unease, however, Tsunade could not pinpoint. Was it being in Konoha again or being in her presence? Was it knowing that only a few rooms away, Iruka was taking his first steps towards becoming a jounin?

Almost as soon as she spoke, Tsunade regretted what she had said. Gaara had told her he volunteered Kakashi for the job, but that he had told the jounin she had requested him. Without a direct order from the Hokage, Gaara knew Kakashi would refuse to return. Seeing the slight widening of the man's visible eye, along with the quick glare he gave the Kazekage, Tsunade knew Gaara had not told Kakashi about their little lie in order to get him to return to the village.

"I had no choice," Kakashi all but growled as he eyed the small boy at his side. If she had not seen the fierce protectiveness Kakashi previously shown towards the Kazekage, she would have been afraid for the boy's life, but knew Kakashi was no closer to harming the young man than Jiraiya was to becoming a saint. She had a feeling there would be terse words exchanged between the two later, but there was no way Kakashi would act on the anger that shone in his eye.

"Why was I invited to the jounin exams?" Gaara asked, quickly changing the topic in hopes Kakashi would stop giving him that glare of his. Even as comfortable as he was in the jounin's presence, for a moment, Gaara felt uneasy when he saw the hatred and betrayal in the silver-haired shinobi's visible eye. With any luck, this trip would end in Kakashi working things out with his lover and then Kakashi would have to forgive Gaara for manipulating him. From the little bits Gaara could piece together over the past six months, both due to Tsunade's letters and Kakashi's attitude, he knew that the man's feelings towards the chuunin went far deeper than even Kakashi realized. Their relationship should be one of legend – not of heartbreak and tragedy. Gaara froze momentarily, wondering when he had started to think like his hopelessly romantic sister.

Tsunade bit her lip, wondering how she should tell the young Kazekage that she had taken unprecedented steps in securing him jounin status. Never before had one village leader vouched for another in a jounin exam. It was rare enough for a leader to do so for one of their own shinobi – the Fourth and Iruka were two of the very, very few shinobi to ever been given such an honor. Iruka was the only shinobi Tsunade had ever heard of refusing that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. For her to be promoting Gaara was almost as impossibly rare as Iruka's refusal. Then again, Gaara was the first village leader to have been elected before he was a jounin; technically, he was still a genin when he was given his title, but he had already proven he was worthy of being a chuunin.

"I wanted you to see a jounin exam before your promotion," she said softly, hoping that the bare truth would be the right way to tell Gaara that she had already argued with Konoha's village elders over his promotion and finally had gotten them to agree. From the momentary widened eyes she received from the boy, she could not help but wonder if she had been right in directly telling him her intentions by bringing him to Konoha.

"Excuse me?" was all Gaara could come up with as he glanced between Tsunade and Kakashi. From the wide eye his bodyguard gave him, Kakashi was just as surprised as him at Tsunade's statement. The understanding in his visible eye, however, told Gaara that Kakashi had understood what Tsunade was talking about, whereas Gaara was in the dark.

"I have elected you to be promoted to jounin status at the completion of the jounin exams. You have proven yourself to me and I think you are worthy of the position without taking the tests. Also, as Kazekage, it would be difficult for you to take several months off in order to take the exams when you felt ready to do so," Tsunade quickly replied, starting to get the feeling Gaara was only filling his mind with more and more questions.

"You can be promoted without taking the exams?" Gaara asked in surprise as he glanced to Kakashi. In response, the quiet man barely nodded his head. "I have never heard of such a thing."

"It is very rare…only two shinobi in Konoha had ever been given such an opportunity. Never before has a village leader been promoted in such a way," Kakashi replied softly as he looked at Tsuade with a questioning glance. What she said about the difficulty in Gaara taking six months off for a jounin exam was true, but he felt that she had an ulterior motive.

"Which shinobi?" Gaara asked curiously as he looked between the two adults. They shared a strange glance, which he could only guess the cause of. As soon as Tsunade spoke, however, he started to understand what the shared look was for.

"The Fourth and Umino Iruka. Iruka, however, has been the only chuunin to refuse the promotion, saying he would prefer to prove himself in the exams," Tsunade answered quietly as she glanced to the side of the room where several monitors were set up, revealing a room filled with shinobi from several angles. From one angle, she could clearly see the brunet teacher eyeing Neji, his hand resting on the boy's arm. For a moment, she wondered what he was doing, but quickly understood that he was keeping the teenager from leaving the exam before they were graded. Iruka must have understood the reason for the first test, unlike so many shinobi who were walking up to Ibiki and then leaving the room in defeat.

"Then I would like to be the second shinobi to refuse," Gaara said proudly as he studied the surprise on Tsunade and Kakashi's faces. "I may not take the test for years to come, but when I do, I want to prove myself worthy of the position like any other shinobi."

Tsunade smiled at his response. She had the feeling he would react in much the same way Iruka had for similar reasons. Tsunade had heard Iruka was only thirteen when he was given the opportunity to be promoted, but he still had refused because he felt as though the jounin community would not respect him because he did not take the exam and prove himself to them as well as his young age. There were few shinobi to become jounin at his age and those who did were ones that were those with impressive Bloodline Limits and genius-level IQs. They were the ones who the whole village watched from birth, knowing they would accomplish great things. Iruka, regretfully, was not one of those shinobi because of the Kyuubi attack. Had his family survived, Iruka certainly would have been viewed on the same level as shinobi like Kakashi, the Fourth, and Itachi when they were children. Sadly, however, only the Third saw his potential underneath his thick shield of trickery and bad behavior.

"Then I can only wish you luck when you decide to take the exam," Tsunade replied with a smile. Almost as soon as she had thought of promoting Gaara, she had the feeling he would refuse out of a mixture of pride, a need to be accepted as he was, but most of all, an urge to prove to himself that he was worthy of the title of jounin.

"Thank you for the offer, Tsunade-sama," Gaara said gratefully. From the surprise he could see on Kakashi's face once Tsunade had made mention of promoting him, he could tell how much of an honor it was. He had also caught a glimpse of pride in the jounin's visible eye when he outright refused the Hokage's offer. "I also do not want to ruin the surprise of the jounin exams for myself, so I would rather not watch…except for the final test. That would prove to be most interesting," Gaara added with a quick glimpse at his bodyguard. That proud look increased as Kakashi heard his quiet comment. Gaara did not want to have a better understanding of the jounin exams than those he would one day test with, but there was no reason for him not to see what promising jounin nominees could do when faced with four elite jounin.

"Then I suggest you take time to relax for the next few months here in Konoha. Seeing as you left your sister as acting Kazekage, there is no need to return to Suna until after the end of the exams. You deserve a vacation after doing so much in the past few months," Tsunade replied with a smile. Though there was little chance Gaara would bump into Hyuuga Neji in his time in Konoha, there was still the possibility they might meet between Neji's tests.

"I may just do so," Gaara replied, trying to ignore the feeling he was being played. Not only was his hotel rooms right next to the mansion where a very handsome teen lived, but Tsunade sounded like she would do just about anything to keep him in Konoha for the next few months. Glancing at Kakashi quickly, he wondered if the jounin had hinted to the Hokage about his attraction towards one of the Hyuugas.

"As for you, Kakashi…" Tsunade turned to look at the jounin with a raised eyebrow. "Your question was saved for last on the first test. There was one answer in particular you might want to look over…" She shifted, her hands gliding over the thick packet of papers Ibiki had handed over to her almost as soon as he was done speaking to Iruka after the young man finished the test. The only thing the torture expert said to her before returning to proctoring was that she should read the last page. Once he left her small room, Tsunade had quickly followed his suggestion and found herself seeing a whole new side of the young teacher. She had immediately seen how his years of demonic training had left him with an understanding of demons that no other shinobi could possibly boast having. He was the first person she had ever heard of suggesting that there was more than one type of demon – that not all of them were evil and that there was a possibility of creating an alliance with them.

Looking up at Kakashi, she slid the test over to Kakashi and, as soon as his gaze reached the name neatly printed at the top of the page, he glared at her. "Why do you want me to read his test?" he asked coldly, his voice holding the implication that following her orders would be like torture for him. Tsunade merely gestured for him to look at the test. Narrowing his eyes momentarily, he did as she asked as he flipped through the test, taking in several clever answers and, as he reached the last third of the test, was impressed to see that Iruka had taken a different route than any other tester he had seen. Instead of pricking himself and using his blood as a sort of morbid ink, Iruka had cut into the paper to finish his test. It was ingenious, but certainly far more difficult than simply making a small slice on his arm or somewhere where the injury would cause little pain. Kakashi could only wonder why Iruka had not taken the easier, and far simpler, solution.

Flipping to the final page of the test, Kakashi let his eyes glance over the light indentations on the page, the shadows caused from the room allowing him to read the angular writing without straining his eyes. As he read the unfamiliar handwriting – it looked nothing like Iruka's usual, fluid penmanship due to his crude use of a knife to continue writing – Kakashi found himself recalling all of his philosophical debates with the brunet. They had never before brought up the topic of demons, but Kakashi could clearly hear the chuunin saying the words so poetically placed on paper. Kakashi had never before heard of a demon who was not evil in nature, let alone the possibility of keeping demons as allies. Never before had he heard of someone declaring that the Fourth's actions were wrong – that the Kyuubi should not have been sealed into his newborn son. Then again, few people knew the life Naruto was forced to live after that day. No one other than another container like Gaara could understand that pain, but from the writing on the paper in front of him, Kakashi found that there was one other person that could possibly comprehend what it meant to be neither fully a human nor a demon, to never be accepted, no matter what they did, because of something they had no control over.

Kakashi found himself taking a deep breath as he looked back up at Tsunade. Searching her gentle eyes, he no longer had to question why she wanted him to read that answer. It was the first chance Kakashi had to see into Iruka's mind, into the areas that Iruka never spoke of…it was the first time he was able to see the side of the chuunin that Iruka was always desperate to hide from the world around him. _Not all demons are evil…_Kakashi repeated those words crudely etched into parchment to himself, trying to force himself to believe it, but the mindset from years of being taught that all demons had to be killed before they killed innocent people was hard to erase. Swallowing silently, Kakashi understood exactly why Tsunade wanted him to read this and to know that it had been Iruka who had written it. In a way, it was an attempt by Iruka to prove that he was not necessarily evil because of what he was – whatever that was exactly.

Kakashi could only stare at the Hokage, wondering if this was her way of telling him that it was about time he worked things out with Iruka. From the barest of smiles she gave him, he got the feeling she was expecting him to make some sort of romantic declaration after the jounin exams were over. What she did not understand was that Kakashi could not possibly say he loved Iruka when he knew _nothing_ about him. Despite all he did to the chuunin, Kakashi could not find it in himself to trust Iruka, especially not enough to bare his heart to the young man when there was a very good chance Iruka would only break it again.

--

Authoress: Okay, I apologize for the lateness in updating, but I have to admit…this was a pretty good chapter after such a long wait…it is finally time for Kakashi and Iruka to start mending things!! Anyways, thank you all for keeping up with this story…and for dealing with my lack up updates…I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and will like future chapters!!!


	4. Useful Information

Authoress: Yosh! I'm back already with a new chapter!!! And a big thanks goes out to Alstarryn-chan for doing such a great job betaing this chapter!!

Disclaimer: aaaah…if only I owned Naruto…

**Chapter Three**

Iruka let out a soft release of air, watching as a surprising number of shinobi filtered out of the room while Ibiki smirked proudly. Glancing at the three boys he had kept from leaving, Iruka had to smile. Though all three knew they had answers that would result in their failing the test, they were putting on a brave face and doing their best to pretend they were assured they would pass. A wave of pride washed through him as Iruka realized that these three were truly worthy of becoming jounin if they could be so calm as Ibiki cackled quietly to himself as he leafed through the papers in his hands. There were so few testers left that he could hold all of their tests in his monstrous hands.

When the flood of shinobi slowed down, then finally stopped completely, Ibiki glanced around the room, counting the remaining shinobi. For the first time in a long time, he had the right number of shinobi for the rest of the jounin exams. Groups of four were needed for the next few months, but there were almost always an uneven team or two, having either too few or too many members. _Sixty remaining…perfect…_he thought to himself as his gaze landed on Iruka. He had to give it to the brunet – Ibiki had been afraid that, in his years of teaching pre-genin courses, Iruka would have not kept up with his training and studying for the exam, but his answers, if nothing else, were perfect. Then again, with Anko, Gai, and several other jounin at his beck and call, it was no wonder Iruka was prepared for the jounin exams. Then again, Iruka _had _been asked by the Third years ago to accept a jounin promotion. He should expect nothing less from the second person in Konoha's history to be given such an honor – whether or not Iruka accepted it.

"Sixty of you remain…from this point forward, if you fail any part of the exam, you will lose the chance to retake the test and will permanently be neither chuunin nor jounin," Ibiki stated loudly, smirking when he saw several people wince at his booming voice. "All of you have passed this section of the exam. This test's purpose was not to test your knowledge, but your ability to lie convincingly and being able to be confident of your answers. It also has shown you your strengths and weaknesses, what areas you need to improve and those that you could help others in. This first month is to teach you how you will need to rely on others or that they will need your aid. For rest of the month, you will be divided into groups where your teams will be quizzed on anything current jounin deem important. Already, you have been split up into teams of four." Ibiki glanced down at the top sheet in his hands and started rattling off names, looking up now and again so he could put faces to the names. Finally, he came to the last group on his list, the group comprised of the four youngest testers in Konoha – and the four every jounin in Konohagure was betting on passing. "Team Fifteen, Rock Lee, Hyuuga Neji, Nara Shikamaru, and Umino Iruka."

**--**

Gaara watched his favorite bodyguard train and, seeing the damage Kakashi was inflicting on the tree in front of him, he could only wonder what horrible offense the plant life had committed. The bark had long since been torn off with powerful kicks and punches and deep gouges in the remaining wood revealed that, at some point, Kakashi had turned to blades when his limbs refused further abuse. He did not have to look hard to see Kakashi's hands were bleeding and, though he couldn't see the jounin's feet, he was sure they were doing so as well.

As soon as they left Tsunade's office, Kakashi had been uncommonly silent, his body language telling anyone and everyone he was in a bad mood. A small part of the Kazekage felt bad for helping put Kakashi in such a mood, but he knew that Kakashi would have never returned to Konoha unless he was being forced. Gaara could only hope that Kakashi and his lover would work things out and the jounin would forgive him for his trickery.

Gaara let out the softest of sighs when he saw Kakashi's fierce attack on the tree falter momentarily before the Copy Cat Nin fell to his knees. If he hadn't been watching Kakashi train for the past few hours, he would have been worried about the man, but having seen the jounin blow off steam and frustration before, he kept himself from running to Kakashi's aid. He knew that Kakashi was much healthier now than a few months ago or even several weeks before when he had started training again, so he was certain that Kakashi's collapse was not due to fatigue, but emotions that Gaara could not possibly begin understanding. He had also learned the hard way that, when Kakashi was like this, it was better to leave the man alone until Kakashi came to him.

Studying Kakashi's frame, Gaara could not help but wonder what he had read on that paper Tsunade had given him. The redhead had not read it when Tsunade offered mere moments after Kakashi went storming off; he meant what he said when he refused the woman's offer. Even if Kakashi was affected by his lover's answer, Gaara did not want to see the kinds of questions he would one day be asked. He could only wonder what Kakashi had even asked on the test for the jounin to have such a reaction; from his expression when reading the page, it was something that was personal, something that had affected him and his lover before Kakashi left Konoha and, in a way, his lover was reaching out to him with that answer. Shaking his head, Gaara had to wonder when he had become so adept at reading people. Even his siblings were surprised at his intuition, but no one was more surprised than the Kazekage himself. He might not be able to fully understand the emotions he could read in others, but he instinctively could tell what they needed at that moment, whether it was a vote of confidence or a gentle pat on the back. The first time he had touched his brother in attempts to soothe the older teen, Kankuro had all but froze in surprise, but since then, his brother, along with his sister and his closest advisors, had grown accustomed to the new Gaara.

The Kazekage looked back to his favorite bodyguard and diplomat, feeling a strange, new emotion wash over him when he saw Kakashi bow forwards, supporting a shaking frame on tightened fists. Even from this distance, he could hear the man's ragged breathing, which Gaara slowly came to understand was not due to exertion, but emotions that Kakashi had kept bottled up for the past six months.

Finally deciding it was safe to approach the tall man, Gaara moved out into the clearing and made his way towards Kakashi. Once he reached the kneeling jounin, Gaara fell to his own knees without a thought for his expensive robes or his image if anyone was to walk by and see a teenage Kazekage doing his best to comfort a seasoned Konoha shinobi.

"Feel better?" Gaara asked quietly as he shifted so that he could look up into Kakashi's face that was all but hidden by his hair and the pale scarf wrapped around him. A part of the Kazekage was glad the jounin had gotten rid of his mask a month ago, but Kakashi had been quick to cover his face back up when they were approaching Konoha. It was as though Kakashi was forcing himself to play the part of the man he once was as soon as there was a possibility of someone from his old life seeing him. After his incident with sun poisoning, Kakashi was completely at ease without resorting to hide behind his mask, revealing a handsome face and small smirks that few people had ever seen before. For a moment, Gaara wondered if Kakashi's lover had seen that side of him. Had Kakashi been comfortable enough around the man to take off the mask and show his true self?

"A little," Kakashi mumbled as he finally sat back on his heels, raising his gaze to look at the small Kazekage in front of him. He could clearly see the concern in Gaara's face, which made the jounin smile slightly. The boy before him was nothing like the evil monster he had been not even a year ago. He now no longer resembled the demon he contained in the hauntingly dark looks, the murderous aura, and the blood-thirsty actions. He actually looked like the teen he was – quiet, socially awkward around strangers, but very kind to those he counted as friends.

"How are your hands?" Gaara glanced down at the jounin's hands, seeing that the man's tanned skin had opened at the knuckles, blood slowly seeping down between his long fingers. Kakashi, in surprise more than anything else, looked down at his hands and, as soon as he saw the torn skin, he started to feel the throbbing ache that he had been somehow ignoring while he took his anger out on an innocent tree. For a moment, he raised his eyebrow at the wounds, trying to recall the last time his knuckles had bled. He had to smirk at the realization that, as soon as he had started wearing plated gloves, that particular injury was exceedingly rare. Looking down at his bare hands, Kakashi considered the possibility of putting his gloves back on, whether or not they were part of Suna's uniform. He quickly thought against it – Iruka had always laughed at his gloves, thinking the metal plates were overkill, and putting the gloves back on would just remind him of the easygoing, comfortable atmosphere when he and Iruka were together – before he started to notice Iruka's unusual chakra.

"They hurt like hell," Kakashi replied with a smirk, but quickly realized the Kazekage could not see the lower half of his face. He had grown so accustomed to leaving his face bare that, when he had wrapped the pale strip of material around his face, he had felt claustrophobic for the first few hours. It was not until they had reached Konoha's gates that Kakashi stopped thinking of removing the thin material and saying to hell with everyone in the village seeing his face. But old habits were hard to kick – Kakashi did not want anyone in Konoha to see his face for no other reason than that was who they saw him as – the infamous jounin whose entire face was never seen.

The mask had started out as a way to stop Obito from making fun of him for his dimples, but it had quickly become a part of who Kakashi was – and, he would never admit it to anyone, but he liked the mysterious air it gave him. Other than Iruka and Naruto, there was no one left living that had seen his entire face. And showing Naruto his face was purely on accident – Iruka, on the other hand, Kakashi had believed he could trust with all of his secrets. He had been stupid enough to think that Iruka would do the same. Recalling that dark chakra and Iruka's double that not even the Sharingan could tell from the real chuunin, Kakashi wondered how he would have reacted if Iruka _had_ told him the entire truth. Would he have felt so betrayed? Would he still have been mistrusting of the kind brunet? Kakashi did not even try to answer such questions because he could not think about Iruka, someone Kakashi thought he knew, without his chest aching.

"Kakashi…" Gaara had seen the emotions play across the jounin's visible eye and could not help but wonder what Kakashi had been thinking about. There was such pain in the man's dark eye that Gaara could not help but wish a long, agonizing death on whoever caused him to feel that misery. The Kazekage's eyes widened as he thought of one person who could have caused Kakashi such pain. _His lover?But why would Kakashi look like the one who has been betrayed?_

"Why would someone have demonic chakra?" Kakashi asked, seemingly out of the blue to the redhead. Gaara cocked his head to the side as he thought about the man's question, even going so far as to ask the demon within for an answer that might help that rid Kakashi's visible eye of that lost look.

"They are a demon container like me," Gaara replied, wishing he could have come up with another answer – one that Kakashi hadn't thought of himself. The jounin shook his head as he let out a sigh. Raising an eyebrow at the man's response, Gaara tried to think of any other reason for demonic chakra. "Why?" he said curiously, wanting to know what had brought about Kakashi's line of questioning. The jounin gave him a haunting glance that made Gaara'a blood run cold as he started to understand the painful emotions Kakashi had been trying to hide for the past few months.

"Iruka…at times his chakra was not human…" Kakashi replied so quietly, Gaara had to strain to hear him. Having observed the brunet, Gaara had not needed to hear Kakashi's words – he had felt that same chakra – but the disgust and betrayal he could clearly hear in Kakashi's deep voice were more enlightening than anything the jounin had ever told him before in reference to his lover.

In response to Kakashi's comment, the demon inside the Kazekage roared jealously. He had seen that control that the scarred chuunin had over such immense power and both he and the redhead had agreed that no container could have such ease using so much energy. There was only one other reason for his chakra, but Gaara was hesitant to say anything to his bodyguard. Seeing the look in Kakashi's eyes, however, made the Kazekage smile sadly. Kakashi had already thought of it for himself; he just needed someone to confirm his fears.

"The only other reason is…that they are…a demon…"

--

Leaning back in his seat, stretching in attempts to make the hard chair a little more comfortable for his numb behind, Iruka wondered what kind of questions the jounin examiners would give his team. Smiling to himself, he recalled the slack-jawed looks on his teammates' faces when Ibiki all but said that it didn't matter if they got questions wrong, so long as they were able to bullshit their way through them. It was highly amusing to watch Shikamaru in particular, who had adopted an eye twitch as he recalled the hours of lengthy physics formulas he had gone through for the sake of his exam, when he could have simply put down the number 1 and would have still passed. Being lazy by nature, it must have annoyed the teen to no ends to know he could have just adopted his usual uncaring attitude and had the same results.

"Iruka-sensei." Blinking in surprise at someone calling his name, Iruka glanced over at his old students and found all three of them staring at him with wide eyes. Having recognized the voice as Neji's, he focused his gaze on the Hyuuga as he raised an eyebrow. "Why are you on our team?"

The question was quite legitimate, considering teams were made up to compliment everyone's unique abilities and, more often than not, age was taken into consideration and the youngest shinobi placed together. Also, since the four of them would be working together until the last two tests of the exam, which were taken alone, it was understandable the three boys would want to know why their pre-genin teacher was on their team. "Why do you think?" he asked calmly as he sat up straight and turned to look at the three.

"Well, Lee's a taijutsu master, Shikamaru's a genius, and I have the Byakugan…" the Hyuuga commented as he glanced over at the team's other two members. The three of them were actually perfectly matched, but it was no surprise Neji didn't know where Iruka's expertise laid.

"I answered every question right," Iruka replied with a chuckle, getting Shikamaru and Neji to momentarily scowl. Lee, on the other hand, simply 'yosh-ed' at Iruka's answer. Putting on a serious face, Iruka took a deep breath. "The examiners apparently thought my particular abilities would compliment all of yours. I know how to motivate Shikamaru, I can deal with Lee's hyper character, and I might be able to teach you one or two things about the Byakugan," Iruka responded as he looked at each teen in turn. In response, Shikamaru leaned back with a 'mendokusee,' while Lee performed a youthful pose, and Neji merely raised an eyebrow. "Also, they like to put the four youngest testers together."

"_Youngest_?" Shikamaru all but squeaked as he eyed their old teacher. He had to admit that Iruka probably was not as old as he looked when he was lecturing him for being lazy or when exploding at Naruto for whatever the blonde had done, but being one of the four youngest Konoha chuunin to be testing? He had seen a few other shinobi that had to be in their early twenties, but then that would have meant Iruka was even younger than them.

"Iruka-sensei is almost as youthful as us!" Lee spouted, having learned about the teacher's age a while back when Gai cried about Iruka's youthfulness after a particularly exerting training session. His other two teammates simply looked at him with surprise, and then they went back to staring at Iruka.

Before Neji could even mouth 'how old,' Iruka spoke, "I'll be twenty-one next month." If Iruka had thought his students had dropped their jaws at Ibiki's comments earlier, he was dead wrong. Neji and Shikamaru could only stare at him, wide-eyed, as his admittance of his age finally started to click. Iruka had to sigh inwardly, wondering if he _really _looked that old, since it seemed every time he said his age, someone was blown away by it.

"B-but…" Having never before seen Neji at a loss for words, Iruka found the boy's current condition highly amusing. Even Shikamaru had stopped slouching in his chair at Iruka's comment. "You _taught_ us!" Doing a quick bit of math, Neji's eyes widened as he came to realize how old Iruka had to have been when he started working as a substitute towards the end of Neji's first year at the academy and the Hyuuga had quickly deemed the bipolar chuunin his favorite teacher. "You were thirteen!?"

The other two members of their team looked at Neji strangely at his outburst, not understanding what he was talking about, but Iruka just gave the boy a smile that told Neji he understood perfectly. "Un" was the only thing the brunet said in response as Neji looked at the teacher in a new light. He had never thought back to his first years at the academy, most of them being a blur of boring classes on abilities he had been learning from birth. The classes he had with Iruka, however, were ones that always stuck in his mind. The chuunin had a way of making lessons interesting and he always went above and beyond other teachers. He was the only shinobi in the academy brave (and stupid) enough to give his students weapons even when they were still learning how to aim and throw. Recalling his first weapons class with the brunet, Neji remembered how Lee had lost control of his shuriken and the weapon had come hurtling at his face with surprising speed.

He could remember wincing, knowing he did not have the speed to dodge the blade thrown from mere feet away. He had been amazed when the pain never came. Cracking an eye open, Neji saw the blade suspended in midair, surrounded by a ball of water that, for some reason, was able to keep its shape though no one was touching it and, even back then, Neji had somehow known that he was seeing something very rare. He had looked to Iruka at the time, seeing the man's concentration on the ball of water and he deduced that, in the split second between Lee losing his grip on the blade and the moment of impact, the teacher had been able to perform a jutsu unlike anything Neji had seen before.

_He knows water jutsu_…Neji recalled as he studied the brunet under a new light. The unusual chakra Neji had seen earlier would definitely explain part of Iruka's ability to control water, when it was almost impossible for a Konoha shinobi to do anything other than walk on water. But where would Iruka have learned such abilities, other than someone from a water-based village, such as the Hidden Village of the Mist?

Recalling that jutsu that had probably saved his life, Neji had to wonder what else Iruka could do if, in a mere blink of an eye, he could form a ball of water and give it enough strength and substance to stop a speeding shuriken. He could not think of anything in particular, but he knew that Iruka was a force to be reckoned with so much so that the Hyuuga did not want to go up against his old teacher in a fight. There had been no body of water near where they had been throwing shuriken that day, which meant Iruka had somehow been able to pull the moisture out of the air – and Neji could only imagine what Iruka could do if he wanted to attack, not protect, someone. And he had the feeling not even the Byakugan could see such powerful water attacks if Iruka was using the very air around them.

Keeping his findings from the rest of the team, unsure how Iruka would react if he told them – or how other shinobi in the exam would if they knew of his particular abilities – Neji could only look at his old teacher and see the barely perceivable smile on Iruka's face. The brunet somehow knew the realization Neji had come to on his own and how he was beginning to understand that their four-man team was a powerful one. For the second time since the beginning of the jounin exams, Neji found himself wondering: _what are you, Iruka-sensei?_

_-_-

Ibiki cleared his throat, noticing how every single person in the room instantly snapped to attention. If only other jounin were be so respectful, he would certainly not have the vein bulging on his forehead much like a pre-genin teacher he knew. The group of chuunin now staring at him had broken off into their teams nearly an hour ago – the time the examiners allotted for the teams to get to know each other if they weren't familiar with one another already. He had seen many smiles when he had read off the teams, so he could only hope they had done a good job in matching abilities. Team Fifteen, he and every other jounin who knew Iruka agreed, was one that would be very surprising because they had no idea how Iruka's mysterious abilities would compliment the Hyuuga and Nara Bloodline Limits and Lee's taijutsu mastery. All Anko told him and the rest of their jounin gang about the brunet's capabilities was that they were water-based and unlike anything any of them had ever seen before. Saying anything other than that, his small girlfriend proclaimed, would be betraying Iruka's trust.

"We are now ready to begin the second part of the first exam." Glancing around at the proctors hovering about the room, he nodded his head, signaling them to hand each team a packet with their team number on them. "Each team will receive an envelope containing the rest of the test. In order to continue on to the rest of the jounin exam, you must complete everything in this packet by the end of the month. Teams are not allowed to discuss questions, cheat in any way, or ask anyone outside their own team for help. Doing so will result in every team member failing. Each packet contains different instructions, so eavesdropping on other teams will not help you – but, to dissuade any cheating, each team has been assigned a room in the academy, where you will spend the remainder of the month. All team members must contribute to finishing the packet – and we will be watching for cooperation, which is the most important aspect of this test. Do not open your packets until you reach your assigned room, where your belongings are already waiting. Good luck to all of you." With that, Ibiki gestured for the teams to leave. This room in particular was, for the rest of the jounin exams, the headquarters for the jounin proctors. Once all of the testers left, Ibiki and several other large jounin had the task of lugging Tsunade's entire surveillance system into the room, so they could watch the teams for the rest of the exams.

With a sigh, the torture expert wondered why he always seemed to be volunteered by one of his friends to be the head proctor for any shinobi exam. Once, Kakashi had said it was because most people were so afraid of him, they would listen to every word he said and would follow every instruction to the "t" just so they would not get him angry. Few people outside their close-knit jounin group knew how difficult it was to annoy the even-tempered giant.

--

Looking down at the packet a smirking Asuma had handed over, Iruka raised an eyebrow. Whether it was luck or his jounin friends setting up the test, his team had been assigned his classroom. He doubted it would matter all that much that he and his teammates would be familiar with the room, but he did have the advantage of knowing that his room was sound-proof. It was not done to keep people from spying on the class, but because Naruto and other loud students had voices that carried so much that even the Hokage himself was getting a headache all the way from the Hokage Tower. Without even asking for Iruka's permission, the old man had his fastest jounin put in sound-proof walls in while the children were in recess after getting a splitting migraine from Naruto and his off-key ramen songs.

The fact no one could hear into the room would be helpful because there was still the possibility another team would try to eavesdrop – though why they would want to, Iruka had no idea. Then again, they might do so to gather information that may or may not come in handy later into the exams. Quickly following his old students, Iruka was surprised to see the sheer number of people in the halls waiting for all of the testers to leave the room, but then recalled that the jounin exams, much like the chuunin exams, were viewed by elders, village leaders, and other important people.

With quick glances, Iruka observed the diplomats, leaders, and others that seemed a little _too_ lighthearted since they were getting ready to watch a set of exams that had a high mortality rate. He recognized many village leaders, having seen their pictures in books and the newspapers, but he also saw faces he did not recognize. Many of the scowling ones he guessed were bodyguards, judging from the number of visible weapons he saw. He could not begin to imagine how many weapons they were concealing beneath their uniforms. He even saw a number of Konoha's elders, along with the leaders of the older clans and Tsunade herself. For a moment, he wished he was more like his loud-mouthed son when he saw how Hiashi did not even look at his nephew as they brushed shoulders. He wanted to say something, but knew anything that would come out of his mouth would offend Hiashi and probably get Iruka killed by the on-edge bodyguards when they heard his raised voice. _Cold-hearted bastard_…Iruka thought to himself as he walked past the older man. There was a chance, no matter how small, that Hiashi would not get to see his nephew again and he couldn't even spare the boy one look!?

As they continued down the hall, Iruka found that there was one person in particular missing – the young Kazekage. He had heard from a number of people that Gaara and his entourage had arrived in Konoha yesterday, but he did not see the boy or anyone he came with in their quick journey to their classroom. As soon as Iruka walked through the doorway, he slid the door closed and found himself looking at his three teenage teammates. All three had mixtures of curiosity and varying amounts of annoyance, fear, and, in Shikamaru's case, boredom, on their faces.

"Let us open our packet!" Lee exclaimed as he danced about the room, apparently energized by the realization that they had a month – not twenty hours – to finish their next test. The packet was about the thickness of their previous test, but Iruka knew that if they were being given an entire month, they would certainly need it. It was either that or he was relieved that the rest of their written test was group work. If Iruka remembered right, Lee did exceptionally well when it came to group projects, but he was nearly on the same level as Naruto and Kiba when it came to working alone. Then again, he was able to complete their last test – but that meant nothing, since he might have made up interesting answers, much like Naruto and Kiba would have done in his place.

Taking a few steps into the room, Iruka finally sat down behind his desk and placed the packet in front of the teens. Momentarily wondering where his classes – along with the rest of the academy – were going to be held for the rest of the exam, Iruka glanced down at the desk and saw a small post-it with Anko's chicken scratch across it.

_Good luck _was all the note said, but it made the chuunin smile and almost chuckle. Only Anko would go against the jounin exam rules and leave him a message on his desk…which meant she knew what room they would be assigned. Feeling his friends had a very large hand in all of this, Iruka glanced at his three teammates, wondering if his jounin friends had been planning to put him with the three teens all along.

The four silently looked at the packet, no one moving to open it. After a loud huff and a 'mendokusee,' Shikamaru reached for the packet and tore it open. Inside, lay a packet nearly as thick as their first test, but the pages were filled with writing instead of having only one or two questions per page.

The Nara genius read over the first page and, almost as soon as his eyes focused on the paper, he felt his right eye begin to twitch. _What the hell?!_ He thought to himself as he handed the papers over to Neji, who had a similar reaction. The Hyuuga simply laid the pages between Lee and Iruka, who both read the first several questions with widening eyes.

_What is the Hokage's favorite brand of sake?_

_What happens on page 57, line 32 of Icha Icha Violence?_

_What size spandex does Maito Gai wear?_

_Who does the Kazekage sleep with?_

The four sat in stunned silence as they looked at the questions, each one even more random and strange than the last. Iruka flipped through the next several pages, discovering that there were over two hundred questions like them. "What the hell kind of questions are these?!" Neji finally exclaimed, breaking the uncomfortable silence, as he pulled the papers away from Iruka and similarly flipped through the next few pages and came to the same discovery as his old teacher.

"…the third one is a size small…" Lee mumbled as he glanced away with a slight blush. His three teammates simply looked in a mixture of horror and surprise that someone even knew that answer; then again, this was Lee…if anyone knew Gai's spandex size, it would be his carbon copy. Pulling a pen out of his jacket, Iruka filled in the answer before he thought too much about Gai and spandex.

'"Number two is 'In response to Saito's love declaration, Mimi kicks so hard between the legs, he is launched in the air.'" Iruka simply raised an eyebrow at Shikamaru's quote, wondering when the lazy boy took up reading Jiraiya's novels. Then again, he had seen suspicious little orange books in Asuma's hands more than once, so he shouldn't be surprised that the chain smoker got his student to read the novels.

"What about the others?" Neji asked as he pointed at the first and fourth questions. The four brunets shared a look that clearly said to skip them and go back later. For the rest of the day – and long into the night – they went about answering questions in that fashion, fueled by an endless supply of junk food, soda, and coffee that Shikamaru was able to pull out of his pockets thanks to his best friend's jutsu.

--

"I think I'm going to be ill," Neji moaned as he rolled over onto his back, finding that this position was surprisingly comfortable despite the fact he was sprawled across the classroom floor, much like his three teammates, and was surrounded by more junk food than he had ever seen before. He had never thought that he could get his fill of coffee, but he had realized otherwise at around ten in the morning after pulling an all-nighter, discovering that Lee, Shikamaru, and Iruka were founts of strange, and slightly disturbing, information. Then again, he had answered quite a few questions on his own – though his were more often than not in reference to old traditions and customs that people outside a clan as ancient as his would never know.

Hearing a groan come out of Lee, who had somehow crawled his way to the back of the room, Neji dropped his head back down, wishing Shikamaru had not plied them with sugary foods and caffeine. His stomach was not used to overindulgence and he was starting to realize why his aunt refused to give him third helpings of desserts.

Looking to his side, Neji saw that, at some point, Iruka had dozed off. Despite the soft snoring coming out of the teacher, he was still somehow propped up on his elbows, pencil in hand as he waited for another answer. The four had wordlessly agreed to give the Umino the duty of writing their answers down, knowing he had the best handwriting, spelling, and grammar of them all. Craning his head, Neji saw that Shikamaru was similarly unconscious, curled up in a small ball at the base of the classroom's set of stairs. He had to admit, they were a pitiful group. Not even two days into the jounin exams and they were already exhausted, ill, and fed up with answering questions. Curiosity got the better of him and Neji rolled himself over to the sleeping teacher. Sliding the papers out of Iruka's loose grip, he glanced over the first several pages, discovering that, though they had answered an amazing number of the questions, there were an astonishing number of blanks left. He did not even want to look at the rest of the test in fear he would only get depressed when he saw proof that they didn't even put a dent in the list of questions. _We are going to fail the exams…there is no way we could know the answers to some of these!_ Neji thought to himself, recalling the very personal question about the Kazekage. A sharp stab of pain went through his chest at the thought the cute little redhead already had a lover, but he was not about tell the rest of his team about his silly infatuation.

Neji nearly flew backwards in surprise when he heard Iruka mumble something in his sleep. All thoughts of the redhead flew from his mind as he looked at Iruka with a raised eyebrow. Neji could have sworn he heard the man say something about ramen and all of its wonders. Neji realized he shouldn't be surprised since Iruka _was_ Naruto's family. He, along with the other teens, had been slightly shocked to hear that Naruto was Iruka's adoptive son – it had actually been one of the questions on the test: _Who is Uzumaki Naruto's legal father?_ Shaking his head slightly, Neji could only wonder if Iruka spoiled the blonde – letting his three teammates eat until they were sick was certainly not fatherly behavior. Then again, Iruka was eating along with them without one word on how it would ruin their appetites or how they were going to get cavities.

"Mmph…" Iruka let out a soft moan as he opened his eyes and glanced over at Neji, who was mere inches away. Raising an eyebrow at the close proximity, the teacher could only guess why Neji was all but on top of him. Seeing the slight green tinge to the Hyuuga's face made him even less eager to be so close. Feeling his own stomach turn sour in response, the brunet wished he had had the sense to stop himself. He wanted to be mad at Shikamaru for giving them junk food, but it wasn't the Nara teen's fault that, besides ramen, sugar was his only weakness. The fact he ate when he was stressed – and the jounin exams certainly were a cause for stress – did not help his stomach any.

"Can we agree no more junk?" Neji all but groaned as he rolled away from Iruka, feeling his stomach groan in protest from the movement. Unable to fight the urge, he slipped out of his chuunin jacket and threw it at Shikamaru's head. Had he had a sharp implement on him, he would have certainly chucked that at the teen, but as things turned out, the jacket worked perfectly fine.

Not seeing the clothing heading towards him quickly, the unconscious Nara did nothing even as the jacket flew into his face, knocking him backwards into the step. Groggily opening his eye in response to the sharp pain in his head, Shikamaru glared at his teammate's jacket for only a moment before he felt bile rise in the back of his throat. Without warning, the youngest member of their unusual team, with a surprising burst of speed, went flying for the trash can.

Neji winced when he heard the lazy teen regurgitate his meal of candy and chips. He hated the sound more than anything else; actually, hearing the sound of someone else gagging usually made him sick as well. Eyes widening, Neji shot towards Shikamaru and their sole garbage can.

Watching the two teens throwing up what _had_ to be more than they put in their stomachs over the past night of binge-eating, Iruka took a quick glance to Lee to see if he was starting to turn green as well. Surprisingly, the boy was already back up on his feet, stretching and throwing a few punches like he hadn't eaten his weight in barbeque potato chips last night. Iruka chuckled softly to himself, passing up Lee's behavior as the rebounding capabilities of youth. Glancing back at the other two members of their team, Iruka let out a sigh. Getting up slowly, as to not upset his stomach further, Iruka shuffled over towards the two.

"Feel better?" Iruka asked rhetorically, his voice sounding tired, but no where near as exhausted as he felt. He could not remember ever pulling an all-nighter before, but his nighttime drinking binges with Anko certainly had proved helpful in teaching him how to take power naps when no one was looking. Taking a deep breath, the chuunin felt a wave of healing chakra run through him, curing his stomach ache in mere seconds. Letting that same energy run down to his fingers, Iruka held his hands out for the teens. In response to his question, the two brunets looked up and glared at him for all they were worth, but quickly looked at him with adoration when they saw his hands glow with a faint green.

"Yosh! We have a healer on our team!" Lee exclaimed loudly as Iruka made quick work of healing his two ill teammates. The boys, much like Lee, looked as good as new once Iruka let his hands fall to his sides. If anything, they looked better than they had before Shikamaru started pulling bags of food out of his pockets.

"I can only heal a little bit, so don't get yourselves mortally wounded," Iruka responded jokingly as he walked back over to where he had been dreamlessly sleeping only a few minutes ago. Flopping back down on the floor, the chuunin picked up the thick packet of papers and found himself wondering how they were supposed to answer the questions that they had no idea about last night. He had always told his students to skip questions they didn't know the answer to, and then go back to them later. But that logic only applied to when the student knew the answer and they couldn't think of it that moment. These questions were ones they wouldn't have known no matter how long they were given to think about them.

_Who does the Kazekage sleep with?_ Iruka repeated the question to himself several times, wondering why the jounin making up the test considered this an important question. It probably was not in Konoha's best interests to be snooping around another village leader's sex life, no matter how young he was. Narrowing his gaze as he looked at the question, it looked to his teammates as if Iruka was giving the paper a death glare. They all exchanged curious glances, however, when they saw the metaphorical light bulb turn on in Iruka's head. The chuunin smirked deviously as he glanced up at his teammates.

"How close would you say you are to the Kazekage, Neji?" Iruka asked as he eyed the younger chuunin up and down. The Hyuuga cocked his head to the side, wondering if, after all of those years of dealing with pre-genins, Iruka had finally cracked.

"I've only met him at the chuunin exams…why?" Neji asked, suspicious of the smile that had come to Iruka's face as the man started mumbling to himself as he leafed through the rest of the pages they had been working on. Intrigued at the change in Iruka, the three teens approached him and sat around him for several seconds until Iruka spoke again.

"Well enough that you could do a little sneaking around and not be suspicious if caught?" Iruka asked cryptically as he glanced back up at the Hyuuga. Neji merely raised an eyebrow, now sure that Iruka had lost what little sanity he had left. He was about to comment that he couldn't do much spying from their small classroom, but seeing the glimmer in Iruka's eyes, thought it better to listen to the older chuunin as he started ranting to himself. "Being a Hyuuga, it wouldn't be strange to be there…since it borders on the clan's property…"

Starting to understand what Iruka was planning, Neji smirked. Recalling the first question on the entire test, he glanced over at Shikamaru and decided the boy would be the best person to figure out what Tsunade's favorite sake brand was. He could merge into the shadows better anyone else and, compared to Neji's mission, his would be laid back.

"They never forbade us from leaving the academy," Neji finally said for the benefit of the two confused members of their team. Understanding dawned on Lee, surprisingly, faster than it did on Shikamaru. Neji had to chalk it up to the fact the youngest one of them had only minutes before lost his lunch, his dinner, and his breakfast all in one shot.

"We will use our youth to find the answers!" Lee shouted as he jumped into the air. Striking a pose frighteningly familiar to his teacher's, Lee cried in happiness. They still had a chance to pass!

--

Neji smirked as he leaned against the building's side, sure that he was cloaked in complete darkness. After divvying up the last of the unanswered questions to the first section of their group test, they had all been surprised to see that it was night already. Then again, they probably shouldn't have been as amazed as they had been. Pulling an all-nighter the night before and falling asleep at almost noon was certain to wreak havoc on their internal clocks.

When he had started out, it had been around seven at night, but Neji could only guess it was somewhere around two in the morning. He had left his most challenging and depressing mission for last. He really did not want to find out who the Kazekage's lover was, but knew he couldn't ignore the question because of jealousy. Taking a deep breath, the Hyuuga molded chakra around his feet and, without a sound, began walking up the side of the building. Having been in the large hotel a few times, he knew exactly which room he had to infiltrate. He wouldn't say he was trespassing or spying – they had such negative connotations and all he wanted was to see who was sharing the handsome Kazekage's bed. Wondering if anyone would notice if he killed said person and take her (or dare he hope _his_) place, Neji momentarily froze, but quickly shook such murderous thoughts from his head. Gaara probably had no idea who he was, let alone like him enough to do even a quarter of what Neji's perverse mind had come up with since meeting the boy.

Continuing his climb, Neji squatted down before peering over the windowsill, his Byakugan activating as he glanced around the master bedroom of the penthouse. There was no sound coming from the large room and Neji did not see anyone as he cautiously slipped into the bedroom. Glancing around and realizing no alarms had gone off with his entry, Neji let out a silent sigh of relief. He had been expecting to at least dodge a few kunai as he made a hasty escape, but today must have been his lucky day as the Hyuuga looked around the empty room.

Recalling the rumor that the Kazekage never slept, Neji felt a little bit better. The young man probably was probably roaming the village to see what kind of nightlife Konoha had. Neji still started moving quickly around the room, not wanting to push his luck. He had no doubts that, if he made a sound, Gaara's brother or one of his bodyguards would have a blade trained to his neck in the blink of an eye. Remembering that one of Konoha's best shinobi was the Kazekage's best bodyguard, Neji wondered if Kakashi would forgive him for sneaking around Gaara's room like a burglar. For some reason, Neji didn't believe the jounin would go easy on him for snooping, whether or not it was for the jounin exams.

Neji walked towards the bed, theorizing that if there was anything that might give an indication of the Kazekage's lover, it would be in one of the two ornately carved nightstands on either side of the bed. The Hyuuga froze, however, when he saw that he was not alone in the room. As he approached the massive bed, he could see the lump that had a distinctive human-like shape to it. Tiptoeing, Neji let his curiosity get the better of him as he moved in for a closer look. When he saw a splash of cherry red hair against the pale silk pillowcase, Neji had to bite back a squeal. Covering his mouth to keep himself from making a sound, Neji stared in wonder as the Kazekage himself turned over in his sleep, revealing that he slept in the nude as he kicked the sheets down below his hips. Eyes widening, Neji could only study the young man's muscular back and, naturally, his gaze traveled lower and he found himself wondering if there was a more perfect rear ever created. He doubted it.

"Mmrgh…" Neji froze when he heard the boy mumble in his sleep before shifting again so that he was on his other side, facing a wide-eyed Hyuuga. Forcing his gaze to remain above the boy's waist, Neji found himself staring into the beady eyes of a very furry creature. Flying backwards, afraid that the little beast would see him and make a sound to wake his master, Neji slipped on the polished floor and landed loudly on his behind.

Wincing at the echoing sound he made, Neji waited for the bodyguards to descend, but no such thing happened. Cracking an eye open, he discovered a pair of sleepy eyes trained on him. Knowing no one other than the Kazekage could have such impossibly sea-green eyes, Neji bit his lip, wondering what the bloodthirsty – yet beautiful – boy would decide to do with him. Slowly standing up with the belief it was better to hear his death sentence standing instead of sitting on the floor, Neji found himself dropping his jaw when the redhead simply shifted on his bed, letting out a snuff. Unable to even make a sound, Neji watched as the Kazekage stretched out, then proceeded to snore softly. _Was he still asleep?_ Neji wondered, hoping that the young man had somehow been unconscious when he looked at the Hyuuga. That way, Neji might live to see another day. Narrowing his eyes when he saw that beady look the furred creature gave him, Neji studied the thing for a moment in the dim moonlight and almost fell back over again – this time from laughing at his own stupidity.

The eyes of the little monster were, quite literally, beady and, if the worn look of the animal was any indication, the teddy bear was very much loved by the boy sleeping next to it. _Who does the Kazekage sleep with?_ Neji repeated the question to himself as he smirked, now having an innocent answer to the suggestive question. Wondering momentarily if the jounin making up the exams knew that Gaara slept with a teddy bear – and, if so, how! – Neji slipped out of the room as silently as he had entered and started making his way back towards the academy to tell the others what the answer was. It was not until he had almost reached the academy that he realized his hair was blowing loosely in the breeze. Without a second thought, Neji quickly pulled his hair back with an extra tie he always carried on himself for such events and continued on his way back to the others.

--

Iruka let out a soft sigh as he put his pen back down after a flurry of writing as his teammates recounted their nighttime adventures. So far, Neji had won in the most amusing story when he admitted – with a blush on his face – that he had nearly been discovered because he had momentarily been afraid of the teddy bear Gaara slept with.

Lee had discovered a great deal about Konoha's nightlife as he researched a number of bars, quickly getting drunk in the process, and then proceeding to some seedier clubs. The boy had only blushed once, when he told Iruka that Konoha's newest musical sensation – a band called Kamikaze – had a _male_ lead singer. Having seen and heard the band on one occasion when he and Anko went out drinking, Iruka would have argued that the thin raven-haired beauty was far too feminine to be male, but from the blush, he guessed Lee knew with absolute certainty. He could only imagine how the boy found out such a thing, but he really did not want to think about it.

Shikamaru had found out a great deal more than any of them wanted to know about their Hokage – including the fact she and her _quite_ female lover liked to use her office at night for anything but work. He had apparently been caught halfway to the window, a list of the four bottles of sake Tsunade had in her drawers in his hands, when someone started to walk in. Shikamaru barely made it to the shadows before their busty leader and her lover entered the room. The Nara was apparently unable to make his escape until well into the women's little rendezvous, sure that they would have seen him leave if they hadn't been so preoccupied with one another.

Iruka smiled, realizing he was the only one who had no mishaps that night. Most of his night was spent watching his son and the pervert Naruto was training with. He had successfully followed Naruto and Jiraiya without either male seeing him, listening on their conversations until the man made mention of his newest novel. It was one that he had been very secretive about for the past six months, telling no one other than Naruto its title. Flipping to one of the last pages of the section they had been working on, Iruka wrote down the name of Jiraiya's newest romance novel: _Shita no furukizu_. Thinking about it for a moment, Iruka realized it must not be part of his infamous Icha Icha series to have such a serious title. _Underneath the Scars…strange title…_the chuunin thought to himself, curious about the story despite his general dislike of smutty novels.

As he flipped to the next section of their test, Iruka's face fell. Much like those first few pages, the next section contained a host of unimportant questions, but these ones involved shinobi he had never met, places he had never been to, and events that he had never heard of. Flipping through the rest of the packet, he saw that the entire thing was filled with similar questions in reference to all the peaceful hidden villages. Raising an eyebrow, he wondered if all the teams had similar questions and, if so, he could only hope someone on their team knew a powerful enough transportation jutsu to move them throughout the a number of hidden villages for the next month.

"Who wants to visit the Hidden Village of the Mist?" Iruka asked softly as he flipped back to the second section and turned it so his teammates could read it. Three sets of eyes widened as they started to realize what Iruka had just deduced. Knowing that none of the teens had learned how to transport themselves, since the ability was one few people other than those in the jounin community had mastered, it was no surprise they now looked to him in hopes he could move all of them, since their only other option was to run.

Quickly pulling his pack out, Iruka rifled through it for a moment before pulling out a plastic bag, glad that he had, as usual, over packed so that he was prepared for any situation. Placing the stack of papers in it, he zippered the bag closed and neatly put the bag back in his pack. Looking up at the three teens who obviously had no idea what he was doing, Iruka smiled. Chuckling to himself as he felt a dark, cold chakra creep down his arms, Iruka started forming seals that had become second nature to him. Almost as soon as he finished the final gesture, sensing his chakra enveloping the three unsuspecting teenagers, Iruka thought to give them a word of warning. "Hold your breath."

--

"Oi, wake up you lazy bastard!" Kakashi cracked open his natural eye and glared at Kankuro, just daring the teen to kick him. Judging from the brunet's stance next to Kakashi's bed, that was what the Puppet Master was planning on doing had Kakashi not woken up so quickly. In the past six months, Kakashi had learned to sleep with one eye open when the Sabaku family was around. They seemed to think that, for anyone other than Gaara, sleep was a luxury that you had to do something to deserve. Never before had he been woken up at such unholy hours and not allowed to go to sleep until far past midnight every night.

"I'm up, brat," Kakashi retorted as he slowly sat up, stretching his tired muscles as he glanced around the room. He had never before had such a nice room when on a mission – other than his suite in Gaara's palace. Looking to Kankuro, he wondered why the young man was in the jounin's room and not off torturing some pitiful animal or something.

"Gaara wanted to talk to you," Kankuro answered Kakashi's unspoken question before waving to the man and leaving the room. Now knowing that the Kazekage had wanted him to wake up, Kakashi did not feel the urge to return to blissful sleep. Gaara knew how much he liked his rest and only woke Kakashi up when he really needed the jounin for something. Even then, Gaara apologized profusely in the only way he knew how – talking in full sentences.

Quickly moving to throw on some clothes other than the pajama bottoms he had been sporting, Kakashi stepped out of his room onto the balcony connecting his and Gaara's room mere moments later. Taking a deep breath as he walked across the large walkway, Kakashi reveled in the feeling of a cool Konoha breeze caressing his unmasked face. He was far enough from civilization that he did not worry about nosy people with binoculars waiting for the moment he revealed his face, so Kakashi had forgone that addition to his uniform.

Stepping into Gaara's large room, Kakashi was surprised to find the boy was pacing back and forth with his beloved teddy bear. The fact that there was not a stitch of clothing on the skinny boy did not even register in Kakashi's mind. He had grown used to Gaara's lack of sleepwear in the past six months; he had run into the boy's room at the first sound more than once, only to find that Gaara – on the few occasions he slept – talked in his sleep. He also walked, fell, and otherwise made noise that would wake the dead, but Kakashi had been given his first pair of earplugs by Gaara's own sister, so he now was just as oblivious as anyone else when it came to what went on in the boy's room during the night.

"Gaara? You wanted to see me?" Kakashi asked slowly when he saw the boy's clouded eyes. It was not often Gaara became so withdrawn, meditating so that he could converse with the demon he contained. The boy blinked a few times as he stopped his pacing, finally looking to the jounin with the clear green eyes Kakashi had grown accustomed to.

"Oh, Kakashi…I had a strange dream…at least, I think I did…" the boy said, already starting his own form of apologizing by speaking in full, comprehensive sentences. Waiting for the teen to continue, Kakashi could only imagine what kind of dream would have Gaara pacing with his teddy bear. Other than when asleep, Gaara never held the stuffed animal unless he needed some kind of comfort that no one else could give him. The last time the little creature had made an appearance, Gaara had been camped out in a chair next to Kakashi's bed while the jounin recovered from extreme sun exposure. Smiling at the innocent side of the boy, Kakashi looked at him not as the Kazekage or an amazing shinobi, but as a thirteen year old boy.

Wondering for a moment if Gaara's age – and the changes in his body – was the reason he had had Kakashi woken up from a dreamless sleep, Kakashi wondered why on earth Gaara was coming to him to with all of his wet dreams. He could understand when the boy admitted his attraction to the Hyuuga nearly two years his senior, but Kankuro could probably explain the things that went along with such an attraction just as well as Kakashi could.

"I could have sworn someone was in my room last night…" Gaara stated, making Kakashi freeze and his blood run cold. For a bodyguard to not notice that someone had entered the Kazekage's room…Kakashi quickly began berating himself for ignoring any sound from Gaara's room so easily. "It was not an assassination attempt," the boy added when he saw the silver-haired man's widened gaze, realizing how his statement must have sounded to the person who had pledged his life to protect him. "I thought I woke up at some point…and _he_ was here…"

Gaara did not have to say the Hyuuga's name for Kakashi to get his meaning. The slight blush covering his impossibly pale cheeks was enough of a hint. "It was a dream, Gaara," Kakashi replied with a chuckle, not wanting to hear about what Neji had done to the redhead in Gaara's hormonal dreams. He could imagine there was a great deal that Jiraiya would love to put into his rumored Yaoi series.

"You're right," Gaara replied with the beginnings of a smile. Watching the jounin until he left, the Kazekage wondered if Kakashi had actualy been right. A part of the young leader had to disagree however when he opened a clenched fist. Looking down at the thin strip of material, Gaara knew it was not his, but the tie had been laying on his floor when he woke up. The fact it had been in the same spot he could have sworn Neji had fallen in his dream made the Kazekage wonder if his dream was a little bit more than wishful thinking.

--

Authoress: Yosh!! How was that for a new chapter!!! Kukuku…I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter and how things are progressing!! Until next time! Ja ne!


	5. Losing Control

Authoress: from now on, I'm keeping my rants short…a big thanks goes out to Alstarryn-chan and B.Z.-chan for betaing this chapter and for doing it in under a day, no less!! YOSH!! And on to the story!

Disclaimer: //drools from the images she could put in the series if she owned it//

**Chapter Four**

"Tsunade-sama!" The blonde Hokage glanced up from the paperwork she had been trying to focus her gaze on, but couldn't stare at the pages long enough for the characters to make any sense. As far as she knew, she could have been reading the final draft to Jiraiya's newest novel. She had already gone far too long without sake and sleep – both of which she could not very well return to until all of the guests that came for the jounin exams were gone. Noticing the wide eyes on her secretary, the busty woman couldn't imagine what Shizune thought was important enough to bother her for.

Seeing the numerous glares in her direction, the woman's eyebrow rose curiously. She must have been daydreaming quite a while, since she had no idea what had caused the mistrust radiating off so many people.

"Hai?" she asked nonchalantly as she took a quick glance around the room, seeing that even some of her own village elders and several clan leaders were staring at her with unusual expressions.

The blonde's eyes widened as numerous complaints reached her ears. From nearly every person in the room, she heard some show of outrage for her "trickery." Unsure what they were all so upset about, she let her gaze finally land on the Raikage, who was the first to step forwards. Being such an obnoxious man at the best of times, she was not surprised when he pounded on the desk she was sitting on the other side of. Wondering if it had been a good idea to have Ibiki move the desk from her office to the surveillance room, Tsunade could only watch as the heavy wood was split in two by the force of his hit, sending important papers flying around the room.

If the man had been anyone else, she wouldn't have hesitated in beating him to the ground, but she had to bite back the urge while still having the diplomatic sense to waive her own guards away, who had already appeared at her sides, hands on their weapons, but not drawing without their leader's permission. The almost invisible gesture was not enough to calm the overprotective jounin down so it took an additional quick glare at the two ANBU members for them to melt back into the surroundings, their focus still on the large man standing before the splintered remains of Tsunade's desk.

"I hope there is a meaning to this, Raikage-sama," Tsunade said with a sigh, pushing her chair back so she could stand up to hear the chorus of complaints she could feel coming on. Glancing over at Shizune, she could see the woman gesturing wildly in an attempt to tell the Hokage what had been going on while she had been oblivious to her surroundings. Whatever reason the black-haired woman had, she was running a finger across the bridge of her nose frantically.

"You dare to sneak an elite jounin into the exams to improve your testers' chances!" he roared. Forcing herself to not take a step backwards at the sheer volume of his voice, Tsunade instead scratched her head in confusion. She was starting to think this was a delusion brought on by lack of sleep, but a part of her mind slowly started to click together the pieces.

"You mean Umino Iruka?" Tsunade asked as she glanced around the room, seeing a number of heads nod in assent. _So that's what Shizune's gesture was for…Iruka's scar!_ Unable to stop herself from laughing outright, Tsunade found could almost taste the confusion throughout the rest of the room.

"The Sandaime requested him to be promoted to jounin when he was just thirteen…he refused. He is not a jounin, but he is certainly worthy of the title," she elaborated, laughing again at the dumbfounded look on the face of the kage in front of her.

"B-but…his transportation jutsu…it was beyond the abilities of most elite jounin…" was all the Raikage could mumble as he glanced to the destroyed desk at his feet. Tsunade could see the shame on the large man's face, and knew that she probably would have reacted in much the same way if one of his shinobi had shown similar advanced capabilities as Iruka in the exams.

"All shinobi have unique abilities," a voice from the other side of the room pointed out in a cold, calculating tone meant to further embarrass the Raikage. Glancing over at the source of the comment, Tsunade was more than slightly surprised to see Hiashi calmly leaning against a wall, his bodyguards doing much the same, as he glanced around with his Byakugan. "Umino Iruka is one of our most respected shinobi and we do not appreciate your suspicion and accusations."

Recalling that the brunet had not only taught Neji, but Hinata and even now was Hanabi's teacher, Tsunade knew that the scarred chuunin had touched not only his students' lives, but those of their families, for someone such as Hiashi to be standing up for him. She could only wonder if Hiashi would still show that same protectiveness if he knew exactly where Iruka's abilities came from. The look the patriarch gave her, however, that made her mouth drop in surprise. Something in those pale eyes told Tsunade that Hiashi was very much aware of the brunet's uniqueness and, if the acceptance in those eyes was anything to go on, Hiashi had known about it for a long time.

--

"Tsunade-sama," the Hyuuga patriarch spoke softly, glancing back to make sure his bodyguards were keeping a lookout for anyone who might try to listen in on his and his leader's conversation. The Hokage did not look at him, her eyes raking over the building tops in an attempt to find something. He did not know what she was looking for, but he had a feeling it was something far beyond a physical object. A part of the man had to wonder if Tsunade was looking for answers to all the questions he could see in her confused eyes.

"You know about Iruka?" she asked, her voice so soft, Hiashi had to all but lean closer to hear her. Letting his gaze follow the Hokage's, he was slightly surprised to discover that the view from the top of the academy was breathtaking. "How?" she added as she turned to look at him.

"His father and I…we were very close friends. Umino Kurage…" Hiashi tilted his head back slightly as he recalled the quiet man for the first time in many years. Having watched Iruka grow up from a distance, he had always been surprised at how little like his father Iruka was. If it had not been for their uncanny resemblance, Hiashi would have never placed Iruka as the gruff, secretive man's offspring. Whereas Iruka loved working with his students, Kurage could not stand any child other than his own hyper son, having developed a large soft spot for the boy the moment he first held him. The Hyuuga had to smile to himself as he recalled the first time he visited the Umino home after Iruka was born, only to find his mouth falling open as he watched the deadliest member of the ANBU team coo and hum to the little babe that could almost fit in one of his large, scarred hands. It was not until years later, when he first held Hinata, that he understood the change that his friend went through when he entered fatherhood.

"You know what the Umino abilities are, then?" Tsunade asked as she watched the pained look overtake Hiashi's usually calm expression. She had been amazed that Hiashi _could_ have friends, but she had only known the man as he was now – a crabby, anal man who needed to make amends with his nephew and elder daughter. She had a feeling he was once very much like his nephew in personality, which caused all of their clashes now because Hiashi didn't want Neji making the same mistakes he did. His problems with his daughter, much like those with Neji, stemmed from a father's protectiveness of his children – he wanted a better life for her than he'd had. Having gotten to know the Hyuuga heiress, she could understand why Hiashi wanted to keep Hinata away from the kind of pain and evil that a shinobi lifestyle would force her to see on a daily basis. If she had a say in the sweet and innocent girl's future, she would do her best to dissuade Hinata from such a violent profession as well.

"Kurage and I were rivals in the academy, but became friends when the Sandaime put us on the same genin team…suffice it to say, I trained with him enough to know the source of the Umino abilities…" Hiashi commented as he shifted his gaze to look at the Hokage. From her surprised look, he felt the old pang of guilt return.

No one knew his relationship to the Umino clan because of his own failings. He had always regretted not forcing Iruka to move into the Hyuuga mansion after the Kyuubi attack; he had made the mistake of letting the boy make up his own mind. From the way Iruka treated him nowadays – as though he had the plague – Hiashi had to wonder if the brunet even remembered that he had been the one to first offer to adopt the brunet as his own son. Did Iruka even recall that, at one time, Hiashi was "Uncle Funny Eyes" to the boy? Iruka probably never knew how, though he never approached Iruka again with the possibility of being adopted into the Hyuuga clan, Hiashi had kept an eye on the boy and, in a way, the little blonde baby Iruka took in as his own.

Despite what his eldest daughter and nephew thought, he was not as evil and heartless as he seemed. He would admit that he had a problem with connecting with people on an emotional level, but who could blame him, after all he had seen and done? He had been forced to watch his best friend and the man's pregnant wife be torn apart by the vilest of chakra, he had to live with the guilt of being the reason for his beloved brother's death, and he was reminded every day how he failed those people that were most important to him.

Kurage had made him promise, mere days before the Kyuubi attack, that he would take care of Iruka if anything happened to the elder Umino – as though he knew the demon was about to attack and he and his wife would lose their lives so violently – but Hiashi was helpless to do anything for Iruka. He could only watch as the boy tried to commit suicide in those first few lonely weeks only to be saved by the creature that directly killed his parents. For the first few days after the Kyuubi attack, Hiashi had wondered if the Umino abilities died with Kurage, but he knew otherwise after seeing the orphaned boy heal with such speed that no one else knew of the injuries that left any blade in the boy's reach coated in blood, but the child unmarred. Hiashi knew then, that the monster that took the lives of Kurage and his wife still had one Umino left to poison with his inherent evil. He thought it better to keep such knowledge from the rest of the shinobi world, knowing that they would never trust Iruka, having seen his father's abilities. Unable to do anything for the boy, Hiashi had to deal with the heartache as he watched the brilliant, sensitive child he had known disappear behind a façade of pranks and forced laughter, his training with a demon so secretive that Hiashi had almost forgotten about Mari entirely. "I never met Mari in person – Kurage said the kappa would have killed me, friend or no," he said quietly, getting a slight nod from the Hokage.

"He is not very friendly…Iruka and Naruto are the only ones he would never harm," she replied as she leaned against the thin railing at the edge of the rooftop. "I can only hope no one notices that he has demonic chakra…I hadn't thought of the possibility that Iruka might use it during the jounin exams…had I known, I wouldn't have let him enter. It is too risky for him; if he is discovered…" Though she had not sensed the chakra or seen his transportation jutsu, she knew that Mizutamari Mari and Iruka's special training had something to do with it for so many people to be protesting his placement in the jounin exams. What would they do if it came down to Iruka showing a real display of his power?

"Few can sense chakra as my clan can. I only knew it as demonic because I trained with his father," Hiashi stated, hoping that he was right to assume that no one else had discovered Iruka's dark secret. When watching Iruka's team on a screen, he had nearly lost the ability to breathe when he saw the chakra envelop the brunet and his younger teammates, before the chuunin transported their entire team out of Konoha. The chakra felt almost _too _normal, much like Kurage's had when he was cloaking that evil energy. If he had not already been sure Iruka trained with Mizutamari Mari like his genius father, he would have just accepted it as human energy, but the slight change to the brunet's eyes had been what made him realize exactly how Iruka was accomplishing such an amazing feat. They were the same cold, calculating eyes his father had when channeling that demonic chakra.

Everyone else in the surveillance room had been so surprised at the speed of his transportation jutsu, no one had had the mind to realize it was impossible for any normal shinobi to transport _out_ of Konoha with the barrier in place – only Hiashi knew that the shield had no chance of stopping someone of Iruka's abilities. The Hyuuga could only furrow his eyebrows as he tried to think of a time when Kurage used such a technique, but found himself sighing when he realized his old friend never had. Iruka had done the unimaginable and surpassed his infamous father, the Demon Master of the Umino clan.

"No one else knows…" Tsunade and Hiashi both recognized the newcomer's soft, comforting voice, but neither was quick to turn around in mild fear of what they would find behind them. Hiashi was the first to look, his eyes widening as he took in the image of a familiar brunet perched cross-legged on the thin railing on the other side of the small rooftop. At his feet lay the two best Hyuuga bodyguards the clan had, their bodies slumped over, but still visibly breathing. Looking at the two seasoned shinobi crumpled on the ground, Hiashi could see no injuries or signs of a battle, which made him wonder if they even knew what happened before being knocked unconscious.

The man chuckled, his handsome face breaking out in a grin and revealing two rows of straight, perfectly white teeth, but the sound of his laughter made both Hiashi and Tsunade's skin crawl. It was an inhuman sound, hollow, devoid of all happiness or amusement. Hiashi studied the man with his Byakugan, but found himself raising an eyebrow. Before him sat a being that was as human in form as he was, but nothing could have made the black gaze, eyes that seemed to be studying them with a predator's interest, human. Hiashi unconsciously took a step backwards as the intruder shifted on his perch, uncurling powerful legs without losing his balance on the thin bar. Swinging his legs down so that they barely touched the ground beneath him, the man laughed again as he studied the two shinobi.

"Don't bother, Hiashi. Not even the Sharingan could tell what I was," the man commented with a third sickening chuckle. Without warning, he pushed himself off the railing with such astonishing strength he was catapulted into the air. Both shinobi could only watch as his lean form twisted in an acrobatic flip that, had anyone else done it, it would have been considered graceful, but the man made it into a deadly display of control. Tsunade and Hiashi stepped back, running into the railing behind them, as the newcomer made his decent, landing mere inches away from them without making a single sound.

"I haven't seen you in a while, Mizutamari Mari-san," Tsunade said, forcing her voice not to quaver as she met the creature's gaze, her eyes being pulled in by the sheer darkness where her mind told her compassionate brown eyes should be. The midnight black of those orbs, extending over even the whites of his eyes, was a shade Tsunade had never seen before and, until that point, she had never thought a color could be described as pure evil.

"Hokage-sama…" he greeted in return, his face erupting in a smile that did not have the murderous intent his earlier ones had. It was still one that told Tsunade not to turn her back on the demon, but she felt her body relaxing slightly as she realized he had come either on Iruka's orders or had wanted to talk to her.

"What do you want? Iruka is not hurt or in danger…" she pointed out slowly, seeing that, for a moment, the dark eyes looking at her changed. The orbs' very surface seemed to ripple outwards like a tranquil body of water disrupted by a small pebble. She did not have to know the demon very well to know that she had been the one to disrupt the calmness of this particular pool.

"Not in danger?" the demon repeated slowly, his voice no longer the gentle tone of the Umino, but a dark, rumbling sound that Tsunade could remember coming out of the demon when she had seen him in his true form. Back then, however, the sound did not make her shiver as the evil, the power, and the promise of death reached her ears. "I put Iruka in your care…that _thing _is not to be anywhere near him!"

"It is about time they work things out," Tsunade replied, her tone as harsh as she could muster, but it still came out as a mere whisper of air in comparison to the demon's voice, filled with barely contained fury. His tone never became loud as he spoke, but his speech became slower, each word delivered with calculated hatred.

"You humans do not understand," he said quietly, his gaze boring holes into her very soul. "What will you do when Iruka sees him…when he remembers? You could never control him…you couldn't possibly kill him. You would destroy everything for a human relationship."

"I know Iruka…he might get angry, but he is a forgiving person…" Tsunade replied, her tone revealing that she was as certain in her statement as the demon was in his. She took a quick glance at Hiashi, who had turned whiter than his already pale skin normally allowed. She recognized it as the fear anyone would feel when facing such a monster as the one that stood before them. She knew the demon would not touch her out of a twisted sense of respect for her position, but she had no idea if that truce would extend to the Hyuuga and, from the sweat beading on his forehead, he did not know if he needed to fear for his life or not.

"_Angry_? Is that what you call it? Will it be _anger_ when he tears your precious jounin to pieces and scatters his body to the farthest corners of the world?" As he spoke, Mizutamari Mari gestured out towards the village with the tanned arm of the kind chuunin teacher he spoke of. Looking out at the village, Tsunade only heard the rest of his words as hoarse whispers. "Will it be _forgiving_ when he does not quench his lust for blood by killing just one person and turns on your village? What will his students learn when they see their beloved teacher create carnage that would even turn the Kyuubi's stomach?" Mizutmari Mari said, the assuredness in his voice making Tsunade's eyes widen. The demon's tone held disgust and Tsunade could only imagine what Iruka would be capable of if Mizutmari Mari was right.

"You're wrong," Tsunade stated coldly as she shook her head, unable to see Iruka doing anything the demon had predicted. He was, above all else, someone who had seen pain and death, so he could never harm another in anger. He could never kill so indiscriminately, no longer putting faces and life stories to those he murdered in cold blood. "I know Iruka. He is stronger than that! He will not be ruled by his emotions!"

"His emotions wouldn't rule him…he would never feel them. The Iruka you know will be gone, replaced by the creature you created by letting _him_ back into the village." Mizutamari Mari shifted his gaze ever so slightly to follow Tsunade's, taking in the view of the village around them. This was a place Iruka loved, a village he would die for, filled with people he had given his life to serve. He hated to think that there was a chance that, in a blind rage, his student might destroy all of it, but he still had to weigh out all the possibilities.

He wanted to believe Tsunade, but he had seen Iruka lose himself in that darkness before – he had seen the boy turn that emotional turmoil inwards and nearly succeed in killing himself as a child. Then there was the one time Iruka had listened to him and tapped into the awesome power those before him had never even dreamed of, but with horrible, unforeseen consequences. Iruka had recognized the beginning of a descent into madness brought on by trying to control such limitless power and, as a last effort to protect his village from himself, he learned the meaning of true pain as he created the seals that now covered his empty guestroom and locked himself inside. Because of that protective jutsu Mizutamari Mari had put on him, he had to literally tear his body apart to bleed long enough to write those morbid characters, not having the time to find the large amount of ink he would have needed.

Somehow, against all logic, Iruka had been able to return from that dark place after a week, his body on the brink of starvation, dehydrated to the point of being delirious, and so weak, he could hardly heal himself. It was the only time Mizutamari Mari ever held the brunet, gently rocking him as he had seen humans do, in attempts to help stop the teen's cries of pain and fear, to soothe him and tell him that Iruka had not harmed a soul in his days of insanity. That show of concern had been the first thing that came out of the boy's mouth: _Did I hurt anyone?_

He was not worried about the blood spattering his once pristine walls, he did not take a single glance at the open wounds that, even with Mizutamari Mari's jutsu, refused to heal, and he did not seem to care one bit that he could no longer see because he had scratched his own eyes to almost permanent blindness in an attempt to stop himself from seeing what he had become during that horrible week. All that Iruka cared about were the people he had sworn to protect, no matter what he had to do to stop himself. Since that day, even after all of his physical wounds healed, Iruka had refused to wash those walls, leaving the seals up to remind himself of what he was capable of – what he could become – if he lost his humanity. Never again did Mizutamari Mari seriously urge Iruka to touch that part of himself, not wanting to ever hear those heart-wrenching screams or the scraping of nails as Iruka tried to claw his way out of his self-made prison. He did not know what the brunet had turned into, nor did he truly ever want to find out. But, if he was forced to remember what happened between the jounin and himself, would Iruka be able to withstand the temptation of escaping his pain, letting that other side of himself take over, and, in the process, losing what made him human?

"Iruka would never hurt anyone in our village," Tsunade reiterated as her eyes followed Mizutamari Mari's gaze, surveying the quiet village as she tried to imagine the most beloved shinobi in the village harming a single soul in anything other than defense of the village and her people. She looked over at the demon and, for a moment, she could have sworn she saw a very human emotion reflected in those dark orbs – sorrow.

"What makes you so sure?" Mizutamari Mari asked quietly, his anger dissipating quickly as he finally turned his gaze back to Tsunade. "You have not seen what he is capable of."

Tsunade momentarily glanced in the direction of the Hokage Monument in hopes of finding some kind of answer to the demon's question. Seeing Sarutobi's stern features looking back at her, she swore that stone face had a look of pride on it, as though her old teacher approved of her. It was then, Tsunade was sure of her answer. Smiling as she looked over the rest of the massive carvings, she took a deep breath. "I am sure because I have faith in Iruka and, no matter what else he may be, he is first and foremost a Konoha shinobi and I trust him with my life and the lives of everyone in this village."

"You humans have such unreasonable faith and trust in one other...I can only hope you are right, for your own sake."

--

Kakashi found himself being abruptly thrown to the ground as a heavy object collided with his midsection. For a moment, he was about to pull a kunai out to defend himself against his speedy attacker, but froze when he saw a flash of bright yellow hair. Almost involuntarily, he wrapped his arms around the teen as he landed on his rear, skidding down the road several feet from the surprising amount of momentum caused by such a small person. The soft laugh escaped his lips as some of that joyous energy that was his student rubbed off on him.

"Kakashi-sensei!!!" The jounin's ears rang, as the loud shriek echoed around him. He could hear that six months had certainly begun changing the blonde – the tone of the boy's voice was nowhere near as high as it once was. Now, instead, that achingly familiar voice held a slight masculine tone that reminded the jounin a great deal of his golden-haired teacher.

"Maa…Naruto…" Kakashi responded as coolly as he could, though even he could hear the chuckle behind his words. He would never verbally admit that he had horribly missed that annoyingly hyper teen and his crazed antics, but that would not stop him from revealing that he was pleasantly surprised to see him. "I thought you were on a journey."

"Shhh! I'm not really here!" Naruto whispered, glancing around secretly. "Ero-sennin will probably kill me if he knew I had broken my jutsu…but I didn't expect to see you here!" Kakashi found himself raising an eyebrow at the boy's confession. Naruto's trains of thought were random at the best of times, but this statement made less sense to the jounin than anything else that he had heard come out of the blonde's mouth. Obviously seeing the confusion in his old teacher's visible eye, Naruto released his vice-like grip around Kakashi's middle and sat back on the jounin's abdomen, scratching the back of his head in a characteristic display of embarrassment. "I was practicing maintaining a justu for long periods…to work on chakra control…it was the only way Ero-sennin would agree to come back to the village for the jounin exams! But it's soooo _boring_ to hang around as a bush for weeks at a time…do you _know_ what people do when they think no one's looking!?" The slight twitch of the blue eyes told Kakashi that Naruto had certainly seen some interesting things by blending into his surroundings.

"Why are you here for the jounin exams?" Kakashi asked, slightly out of breath because he was unaccustomed to having a heavy weight resting on his diaphragm. Had it been anyone else, he would have probably thrown them off almost as soon as they had touched him, but he could not help but smirk widely and watch as his student broke out in a grin, wiggling excitedly. Kakashi knew Naruto well enough to know that the blonde had yet to realize that he was straddling his teacher, unconsciously giving his teacher a perfect view of his groin, and that what Kakashi knew to be a wiggle would look like a very erotic dance to any passerby. Within a second of Kakashi letting out a perverted snort, his student went flying off of him, scarred cheeks lighting up to an impressive shade of pink.

"HENTAI!" Naruto screeched, his outburst attracting the attention of quite a number of people. Almost as though he finally realized that they were in a crowded section of the village, Naruto froze momentarily, a forced smile coming to his face as he broke out in a cold sweat. Kakashi could only watch with a raised eyebrow as the boy became a blur as he flew to the side of the road and, without another word, crouched down and turned himself into a very life-like bit of shrubbery with a puff of smoke. Kakashi simply raised his eyebrow even more, only able to imagine what kind of agreement the boy had to make with the novelist in order to return to the village when he was supposed to be halfway across the world right now or the consequences if he broke that promise. Whatever that punishment was, Naruto was willing to play the part of a bush just to be in the village.

Calmly getting up and dusting himself off before strolling towards the inconspicuous shrub, Kakashi whistled softly until he reached his old student. As he leaned against another bush, only able to hope that this one was an actual plant, the jounin waited until he heard soft whispering coming from the greenery.

"We came back to watch the exams, but Ero-sennin wants me to be hidden from Akatsuki, so no one is allowed to know I'm here…not even Baa-chan knows…" the bush commented so quietly, the jounin had to strain to hear him. Whipping out his Icha Icha Paradise from the loose robes of his Suna uniform, Kakashi leaned back and pretended to read in hopes that no one would wonder why he was in the company of a row of shrubbery. "If he knew I was talking to you now…I'd be banned from having ramen for the next two years!" The way the boy spoke, Kakashi had to wonder if Naruto would die before having to deal with a future without his beloved noodles.

"Maa…you can't watch the exams, so why are you here?" Kakashi questioned, making sure his face was covered by his book, though he almost instantly realized that no one could see his lips moving because of the constricting cloth over the lower half of his face. "Only other jounin, the elders, and village leaders are allowed to watch the exams."

"Ero-sennin and I are going to sneak in so we can see the last part of the exam!" Naruto all but squealed in glee. Kakashi had to smirk at that comment. Had he been the boy, he would have probably done his best to somehow get into the arena to watch the climactic ending to the six months of exams too. It was, by far, the most interesting part, but at the same time, the most dangerous. The few that got even that far had a very high chance of injuring themselves or being killed in one of their final battles, where lethal force was a requirement. Recalling his own jounin exam, Kakashi could remember the thrill, the heart-pounding excitement, and the rush of adrenaline as he walked out into the large arena where all attention was on him, the youngest shinobi to test in years. His senses were heightened as he fought for his very life in order to prove himself worthy.

"Because Iruka is testing?" Kakashi asked quietly, his voice strained with a number of emotions that even the jounin himself did not want to name. Glancing over at his student, he could have sworn he saw the bush nod. He obviously could not see Naruto's face to see if those blue eyes were filled with any emotion, so he was left to wonder if the boy felt the same as he did. Since reading the last page to Iruka's test, he had found himself wondering if the kind-hearted chuunin could survive long enough to find himself in that arena. Even if his intelligence and quick thinking brought him to the final test of the exam, if there was no other way to pass, could Iruka aim to kill?

"He will pass," Naruto stated confidently as the jounin felt the boy's eyes on him, though he did not follow the gaze back to its owner, because he didn't want to have to think on the conundrum of how a bush without eyes could stare at him with such perception and understanding. "You've changed in the past six months, Kakashi-sensei…"

"Maa…it took sun poisoning for me to get this color," Kakashi said, partially joking, as he glanced over at the bush for a moment. He knew Naruto well enough by now to know that, by the pause, the boy was waiting for him to take the comment seriously. If the bush had had a pair of impossibly blue eyes, he was sure they would be narrowed, glaring at him in that fox-like way only Naruto was capable of. Sighing, Kakashi lowered his book for a moment, wondering if he could ever open up to his loud-mouth student as much as he did towards the three Suna teens. A part of him yearned to explain himself to the most important person in Iruka's life, but the rest of the man was afraid of Naruto's reaction if he told him. "Six months is a long time…" he responded solemnly as he glanced over at the bush.

"Enough time to start forgiving stupid jounin?" Naruto replied, the light tone being exactly what Kakashi had been hoping to hear, but had never thought the boy would be able to, in his own way, forgive Kakashi for hurting his only family. "Iruka would probably beat the crap out of you right now…but maybe after he finishes the exams, he'll be ready to talk things over with you," the boy added, dashing what little dreams Kakashi had of just walking up to Iruka and going back to the easy friendship they once had.

Those dreams were hidden deep within him; he knew that his chances of that happening were astronomical, but he still kept them alive with the naïve thought that perhaps that night had meant little to nothing to the chuunin, to the point where Iruka had forgotten about it. The jounin's chest began to ache at the thought of meaning so little to Iruka – that there was the possibility Iruka had forgotten what had happened between them.

As much as he had opened up to Gaara and Kankuro, he had not even worked up the courage to tell the Sabaku teens how much Iruka had meant to him…he was not sure if he was ready to admit it to himself, much less other people. Looking to Naruto, he wondered if the boy had any idea – the brat might be stupid, but he was also frighteningly perceptive when it came to others. Could the blonde possibly understand that Iruka had become his best friend and, though he had done it for the brunet's own good, leaving Iruka – fleeing Konoha – had been the hardest thing Kakashi had ever done?

"Kakashi-sensei…I don't agree with what you did…but I know why you did it…" Naruto commented quietly, unsure whether he should tell the jounin the truth – that Iruka did not remember their friendship or that night they had spent together, that his and Anko's relationship was just for show, and that anyone with half a brain could tell how much the pervert cared for Iruka. Glancing up at the man, Naruto knew that Kakashi was still somehow able to lie to himself, to ignore his feelings, but all it took was one look into his visible eye to see the loneliness it contained, for anyone else to realize that the last six months in Suna had done nothing to lessen his feelings for Iruka. "I'm sure Iruka still wants to be friends…as for doing _things_…" Naruto trailed off, not wanting to imagine his father and the lanky jounin doing anything that would have Jiraiya writing furiously with that perverse grin on his face.

He did not want to give the jounin the idea that a sexual relationship with Iruka was possible, but the growing hopeless romantic in the boy could only wish that, in time, Mari would be proven wrong and Iruka would forgive Kakashi – that he could deal with knowing what Kakashi had done – and that they would have that "happily ever after" Naruto direly wanted for his father. If nothing else, knowing why the jounin had done it – to keep Iruka from getting hurt in the future – might help him accept Kakashi's cowardice. The blonde could not help but compare his and Kakashi's situations. He knew that, if he had another chance, if he could do things differently, he would have been happy just to have Sasuke's friendship. A part of him would have longed for more, but just being in the Uchiha's presence would have been enough for him. Seeing the jounin now, Naruto knew Kakashi felt much the same. If nothing else, he just wanted that close friendship back – someone he could talk to, laugh with, and rely on…someone to care enough to mourn for him when he died.

"Friendship is all I want," Kakashi stated, though even to his own ears, there was a hollow ring to his words. The jounin was not even ready to fully admit it to himself, to put words to the ache in his chest when he thought about the chuunin, but there was a small part of him, deeply hidden beneath skepticism, mistrust, and unease, that could only hope he would get a second chance with the compassionate man. The rest of the jounin, however, refused to hope because of the lies and secrets between them. He could not possibly bare his very self to someone who was unwilling to trust him.

Closing the little book in his hands, which he had no urge to read for once, Kakashi looked over at the seemingly average bush, and smirked beneath the material covering his face. "You've grown, Naruto," he stated truthfully, his tone hinting at the pride only a teacher could feel for one of their students. He could clearly picture the loud, idiotic boy he had met well over a year ago, who had slowly grown on him. The boy who now, figuratively, stood before him was a shinobi worthy of his trust and friendship. He was loyal and determined to the point of stubbornness, but Kakashi would never want the boy to change that about himself. He was wise far beyond his years, able to understand others, sometimes more than they understood themselves, because of everything he had lived through. Naruto was able to see emotions for what they were because he was unafraid to explore his own feelings, unlike other shinobi and, because of that, he was mentally and emotionally stronger than anyone else Kakashi knew. He was someone who, in the jounin's mind, had already proven he was capable of leading a village. "You're going to be a great Hokage one day," the jounin added as he started to walk away from the young shinobi.

As he made his way back onto the road, he swore he heard the bush behind him stammer and, for a moment, he wondered if he looked back whether or not he would see the shrubbery blush at his uncharacteristic compliment. Before Naruto got the chance to reply, Kakashi continued walking back towards the hotel where he was sure a very impatient Kazekage was waiting to hear how the jounin exams were going. He was sure no one had noticed his presence in the surveillance room over the past few hours; then again, most of the room's occupants were more concerned about the brunet academy teacher showing abilities most elite jounin did not even possess than one quiet shinobi watching the screen showing Team Fifteen with a narrowing gaze.

--(A/N: we shall be jumping forwards in the jounin exam from this point on – just so no one gets confused!)--

Neji lurched forwards, landing heavily on his knees as he clutched his stomach, which was beginning to feel like it was doing twirls and flips in protest to being transported so abruptly from the Hidden Village of Waterfall. He heard a soft groan from Shikamaru, whose stomach must have been making similar nauseating shifts, judging from the sound that escaped the boy's lips.

Lee seemed to be the only one of the three teens who was "youthful" enough to deal with the transportation jutsu. Neji and Shikamaru both agreed it felt like their body was like one big rubber band, and they left at least half of their bodies behind in the last hidden village. It only took a matter of moments for that figurative band to snap back, their bodies recombining with such force, it left the two youngest members of their team reeling for some time. Iruka and Lee easily brushed off what the teacher told them was a backlash of energy, while Neji and the Nara were forced to crawl on hands and knees until their heads stopped throbbing, their stomachs ended their nauseating dancing, and their legs no longer felt like a pile of jell-o that had been left out in the sun for far too long. Before the jounin exams, Neji never experienced motion sickness and, now that he was quite familiar with the ailment, he felt horrible for spinning Hinata around until she was ill when they were children.

"No more, Iruka!" the Hyuuga begged quietly to himself as he bowed forwards, letting his forehead rest on the cold ground beneath him. Though he could already feel the snow starting to freeze his skin, despite the material between them, he was blissfully uncaring when he felt that the ground was motionless beneath him. Taking several calming breaths, chilling his throat and lungs as he sucked in freezing cold air, Neji started feeling better. After so many transportations, he had started recovering faster and faster until now it took only a few minutes before he felt his world starting to right itself.

Blinking a few times to clear his watery vision, the young chuunin slowly sat back up, resting on his heels as he glanced around. Seeing the youngest member of their team resting his head between his legs, Neji could only pity the boy. It was still nearly an hour before Shikamaru felt strong enough to try standing again, but the Nara refused to admit his incapacity, so he pushed himself, stumbling and crawling until someone – usually Lee – ignored his protests and carried him to wherever they decided to camp that night.

Glancing around, Neji saw that they were on a snow-coated shore, the large lake behind them frozen over except for one large hole. Neji could only thank his old teacher for having the forethought of going ahead of the rest of his team and making sure there would be a place for them to exit the body of water. They had to learn to do so the hard way, after a frightening experience when they transported to the Hidden Village of Ice. Though he knew it had only been a few minutes afterwards, it had felt like an eternity at the time for the Hyuuga, as his life flashed before his eyes.

Neji had always thought people who were caught beneath ice had ultimately died were idiots because they hadn't thought calmly and rationally, that they had panicked, and that was the cause of their deaths. He now knew that being under a thick sheet of ice was an experience unlike anything else. He was not able to see the sun, so he had no sense of direction. He only knew "up" was "up" because he had hit the ice above him and had enough sense remaining in him to understand what that meant. It was so cold, he could hardly move, let alone feel his way along the ice in attempts to find holes or a weak spot in the foot-thick entrapment. He could not stop himself from panicking, much like those people he always thought as illogical. Pounding on the ice, even with his impressive strength, did nothing to save his life. His actions, if anything, only wasted his precious oxygen and, within moments, he felt his lungs protesting. Though he could hardly see in the first place, what little vision he had left began to darken as he felt his body losing its buoyancy, the lack of air making his body unable to float. Dark water surrounded him as his conscious began to slip.

The next thing Neji remembered was coughing up water as he lay on his back, his head tilted to the side so that his cheek was resting on snow that seemed to prick his skin with its coldness. Once most of his senses returned to him and he was able to sit up, though his body was, for the most part, still numb from the cold water, Neji saw that the other two teens were similarly soaked through, their skin pale and their lips blue. Neji was not sure if it was his own teeth or someone else's he heard chattering, but that was the only sound he could hear other than the crackling of fire. The last member of their team was, to the surprise of all three teens, creating an impressive Katon no Jutsu in attempts to warm them up.

Iruka was the only person not soaked through or, in any way, cold due to the freezing water they had been transported into – an ability that he was still working on transferring to his teammates at that time, but had yet to do successfully. Over the next few hours, he gradually warmed them up, making sure not to do so too quickly because, as he explained later, it would have only injured them more. Once their body temperatures had reached something closer to normal than hypothermic, their chakra pathways were stable enough for the teacher to heal all three. It had wasted precious time they didn't have, but they had since learned from their near fatal mistake.

No one on their team had thought that the water would be frozen this time of year, despite the name of the village – the Hidden Village of Ice. Looking back, they laughed at that particularly obvious warning. Then again, none of them had ever traveled so far north before. Now they knew that, in this climate, most of the lakes and rivers were frozen over all but one or two months out of the year. Having since learned, Iruka was overly cautious as they made their way through northern countries that they had never even heard of before.

Looking down at his dry clothes, Neji sent up a prayer of thanks that Iruka had somehow found a way to keep the rest of the team dry and warm during the transportations, after the time they were caught under the ice. The team had actually all agreed to leave Iruka to that sole mission, while the rest of them went around the Hidden Village of Ice, answering absurd questions for several days. By the time they finished the few pages, Iruka had one of his proud smirks on his face, wordlessly revealing that he had found a way to pass on the ability to his teammates.

The next time they had transported – to the Hidden Village of Waterfall – the three teens had been astonished to discover that, not only were they as dry as their old teacher, but they had no immediate need to get out of the river, noticing that they were able to breathe underwater just as easily as the most unique member of the team could. They still had to get out quickly, since it took a frightening amount of chakra on Iruka's part, to keep them dry, warm, and able to breathe for more than a few seconds.

Glancing over at the oldest member of the team, Neji felt a pang of guilt as he watched Iruka drag himself out of the water. Whereas, when they first started this part of the exam, Iruka was always the first out of the water, full of energy, now it was a trial for him to even swim to shore, much less do anything other than rest in an almost catatonic-like state the first few hours, after transporting the whole team from village to village. Neji could only be thankful that this was the last set of questions and, once they finished in the Hidden Village of Snow, they could return to Konoha.

Taking a deep breath as he stood up, he made his way over to his old teacher and, with his ever-energetic teammate's help, plucked Iruka out of the water. Having already come in contact with Iruka's sense of pride, Neji knew better than to carry the brunet. Instead, he let the teacher sling one arm over him, the other over Shikamaru, and with the two teens supporting most of his weight, the three made their way up onto the shore where Lee was apparently busy, while the rest of the team got over the effects of the transportation.

Iruka cracked open an eye as he felt Shikamaru and Neji lower him down to the ground, where Lee had already put down waterproof mats for them to sit on. After freezing their butts off the other week, when they started moving through the northern countries, they had scrounged up all their money to buy necessary equipment for such cold weather. Glancing around at the thick mats and tents, Iruka was thankful he'd had the sense to be prepared for any kind of event, which included packing a small fortune.

Tightening his new winter jacket around himself, wrapping the thick collar around his face, the chuunin watched helplessly as Neji and Lee all but dragged Shikamaru over next to him. The poor Nara had the worst aftereffects of the jutsu, but there was no other way for their team to move quick enough to finish the test in time. They had lost precious time the first day when they ate their weight in junk food, then when they had several mishaps in various villages. The ice incident was, by far, the most threatening event, but then there was the time when Lee and Neji got food poisoning after eating some meat far past its prime, and the time Shikamaru got electrocuted when he got caught peeping in an onsen for the sake of their exam. As of late, they were also being slowed down by Iruka.

Watching as Lee and Neji went to work fixing a warm dinner for the team, which consisted of packs of ramen Chouji had packed underneath mountains of junk food in Shikamaru's pockets, Iruka felt helpless. Mizutamari Mari had always warned him about using his transportation jutsu multiple times over a short period, but the chuunin had the feeling that, if the demon had known he was doing so with multiple people, the kappa would beat him over the head with something heavy and sharp.

He didn't tell his team about the source of his abilities, unsure how they would take it. Iruka knew they had a feeling it was an ability whose origins were not entirely legal, but they had made no mention of it, so he felt there was no reason to enlighten them. In this case, it was better to be ignorant.

Taking a deep breath, Iruka looked down at his hands through quick glances as to not attract Neji and Lee's attention. The boys had not looked closely at him after a transportation jutsu before and he really did not want them to start, now that the effects were taking longer to wear off and the effects themselves were worsening.

Opening his hand as he spread his fingers on his lap, Iruka could clearly see the thin membranes connecting long, spindly digits that could never be described as human fingers. Where once there were neatly clipped nails, now stood something Iruka could only describe as claws. The appendages, solid as stone and as sharp as a knife, were darkened to an almost black shade and they grew out past his fingertips nearly an inch, curling inwards ever so slightly. The first time Iruka had noticed them, he had accidentally cut open his hand as he studied them. Now, he knew better and just let them rest on his thighs as he tried to will them, and the webbing between his fingers, away. Using quick glances, Iruka watched his teammates with heightened vision. He could clearly see the aura surrounding each boy, as well as the chakra that pulsed just beneath the skin. A part of him wanted to further study them, but he knew they would sense his staring.

The last thing Iruka wanted was for his team to take a closer look at him. The changes in his hands were the least of his worries. Would they see that his eyes were no longer the soft brown they once were, but a shade that was almost as dark as midnight? Would they see that his hair was lighter until the effects of the transportation jutsu wore off? Iruka even had to be careful about what he said or did because even one glimpse of his teeth would reveal they were sharpened to points. There were other less visible changes, such as the slight change to the shape of his ears, temporarily more pointed than round, or that, beneath his thick collar, he hid gills that made him now gasp for air as his body slowly adjusted itself to breathing on land.

The worst thing he could imagine his team noticing, were the differences in his personality and chakra. No one could now consider the energy coursing through him fully human and, since leaving Konoha, Iruka had forgone the extra precaution of masking the demonic chakra beneath a disguise of "normal" energy. It was both a waste of time and precious chakra and, having since started to burn chakra at an alarming rate in his transportations, Iruka did not have the energy left to hide it. He could only wonder if his team was noticing it yet. At times, he thought Shikamaru might, just because of the way the boy glanced over at him at times, with a mildly suspicious look. He was sure Neji noticed, but the Hyuuga did not seem to care in the least, which Iruka was thankful for.

As for the changes in character, Iruka was having an easier time suppressing those alterations. Within a few hours, he would be his usual, kind self, but right now, he could not help but tighten his hands into fists, taking care not to cut himself on his claws, as he wondered which of his teammates would be the most challenging to fight. He was still in enough control of himself that he could restrain himself from attacking them out of a sick sense of curiosity, but if it got much worse, Iruka was unsure if he would be able to contain the growing violent streak in himself. The violence, as of now, was bearable, but the surges of unprovoked anger, mixed with unexplainable hatred, were more difficult to deal with. He let the boys believe he was resting, but in reality, he was in a deep meditative state in order to keep himself from lashing out at them while his body returned to normal.

"Are you alright, Iruka?" The teacher was torn from his thoughts when he heard Shikamaru's voice coming from nearby. Glancing over at the teen, he was surprised to see that the boy was no longer feeling any ill effects of the jutsu, if the color returning to his cheeks was any indication. Instead, Shikamaru was sitting right next to him, studying him intently with clear eyes. Iruka was momentarily proud that the Nara had cut his recovery time in half since their last move, taking a mere half-hour to return to his customary lazy self. For a heartbeat, Iruka forgot about what the boy had asked and smiled at the teen.

Almost as soon as he had done so, he saw the teen's dark eyes widen. Quickly running his tongue along rows of sharpened teeth, tasting blood as he nicked his tongue on one particularly pointy tooth, Iruka inwardly cursed as he hid his teeth behind tightly pursed lips. "Iruka?" The boy's tone was questioning, but not at all afraid.

It had taken the three teens well over a week before Iruka had finally convinced them to drop the "sensei" honorific. Even though they now saw him as, not their old teacher, but an equal – a friend, a teammate – Iruka could still feel Neji and Lee's respect for him in how they spoke to him and acted around him. Shikamaru, strangely, was the only one who did not show a greater amount of respect towards him than the others. Though they were the farthest apart in age, Iruka found himself finding the most in common with the genius Nara. Though his own childish son was Shikamaru's age, the brunet was far more mature than his physical age indicated. The Nara was actually more of an adult than most of the older members of the shinobi community, but Iruka was unsure if maturity would be enough to make Shikamaru able to handle knowing what was causing the changes in him.

"The jutsu?" Shikamaru asked rhetorically as he watched Iruka. He could see the struggle in the teacher's eyes, of whether or not to explain the disturbing changes in his physical features. Since the beginning of the exam, he had noticed the subtle changes in Iruka, but said nothing, instead gathering information as he watched the teacher start turning into something unrecognizable. More than once, he had seen the webbed fingers and lengthened nails. He had noticed, too, that Iruka's hair was prone to changing colors gradually, darkening when he was more like himself, but turning several shades lighter after performing a transportation jutsu. He knew that the man had to meditate to hide the urge to harm his teammates, having caught glimpses of the teacher's eyes and seeing the bloodthirsty glint lurking in them. This was the first time, however, that he had seen his old teacher with the sharpened teeth that he had only seen on Mist shinobi before.

Shikamaru had seen many abilities and had read about even more, but he had never before heard of something like what Iruka was exhibiting. A part of the Nara wanted to say Iruka's abilities were not humanly possible, but he could only recall the kind teacher who had all but forced him to graduate the academy. No matter what else Iruka was, he was a good man and an even greater shinobi.

Analyzing the narrowed gaze the teacher now gave him, suspicion in dark eyes that normally were a soft brown, Shikamaru forced himself not to show the fear he momentarily felt. Something in the Nara screamed that those eyes were not fully human and that he should fear for his life, but the teen kept reminding himself that sitting before him was his favorite teacher, a man he was willing to do anything to protect. This was the Umino Iruka that the entire village loved because of his endless compassion and big heart. He was not the monster Shikamaru's instincts told him he was.

"Answer me one thing, Iruka…" Shikamaru said softly, so that their teammates would not hear. He could tell Iruka did not want all of them knowing about the changes the observant Nara was the only one to notice. "I don't ask as a shinobi, but as a friend…is it dangerous?" He did not specify what 'it' meant, unable to shake the belief that Iruka would never harm a fly. The danger he asked about was the array of unbelievable jutsu Iruka was performing, the slight changes to the man, but, above all, the darkening of the teacher's chakra that the Nara had started sensing. Knowing that there was something _wrong_ with Iruka's chakra – and not having any particular ability to sense chakra like other shinobi he knew – made Shikamaru wonder how large the change truly was, for him to finally be noticing. He could only imagine what Iruka's chakra felt like to someone like Neji.

Iruka was so surprised at Shikamaru's comment that he could only stare at the teen for a moment. The genius knew better than to ask if he was dangerous – knew better than to ask as a shinobi protecting himself, his team, and his village. Shikamaru could tell that would only anger him further; a part of the kind-hearted Iruka could not help but appreciate that gesture. Finally finding the answer that was not a lie, but something that would make the teen feel more at ease, Iruka spoke softly, "It is not dangerous as long as I am in control." Even to his own ears, he could hear how the demonic chakra had altered his voice, deepening it ever so slightly. "You don't have to worry…or fear me." His last comment, said with the chuunin's familiar voice, was one tinted with sadness; admitting that people _could _and probably would fear him, hurt him more than he thought it would.

"I worry _for_ you…the transportation jutsu is taking a toll on you…" Shikamaru replied as he shifted, leaning his shoulder into Iruka. The teacher did not pull back, nor did he show any anger at his actions, so the teen remained contentedly resting against his old teacher.

He could remember leaning against Iruka like this when he was younger, when he refused to go to classes and, instead, watched the clouds go by. Back then, there were days when Iruka had come outside to sit with him, not being like other adults and forcing him back indoors. No, Iruka understood him and let him be. Sometimes the man would ask what he saw in a particular cloud, debating its shape with the Nara. No matter what, Iruka was the one teacher who always spent time with each of his students – he was the only one who took the time to get to know every one of his students. He was the first person to know Shikamaru as someone other than the lazy genius others believed him to be. Iruka was the person that inspired Shikamaru to finish the academy and strive to be the best shinobi he could be.

"We have six days to finish the test and return to Konoha…if we finish the questions in two days, and move quickly, we can make it back to the village on foot before our month is up," Shikamaru stated calmly as he leaned into his old teacher's warm shoulder.

Iruka had to smile at the Nara's consideration. Though it would be harder on their team, cutting the time they had to finish the test, it would be far easier on him if he did not have to waste what little human chakra he had left before sufficiently building his stores back up, by transporting their whole team back south. If it was just him, it would be simple, but all four of them made the jutsu far more difficult than he had foreseen. He had underestimated how much energy it would take to move all of them, as well as the toll it would take on him to keep his teammates dry and warm and to give them the momentary ability to breathe underwater if something went wrong and they could not get out of the water immediately.

"Two days would be cutting things close…" Iruka pointed out as he glanced down at the teen all but attached to his shoulder. He recalled all the times he and Shikamaru watched clouds and could not help but smile. Naruto loved to adopt this position when he wanted ramen or money, but Shikamaru only did so when he wanted an escape from the hectic, noisy world around him. It had been difficult to work cloud-watching into his already busy schedule, but Iruka always somehow made the time to sit with the boy and do nothing other than relax, showing Shikamaru that, no matter what, he was never as alone as he felt.

The Nara could not have known that leaning against the teacher like this made any dark feelings melt away from Iruka, replacing them with his customary kindheartedness and the inability to refuse anything the teen asked. Momentarily cursing his weakness, Iruka let out a soft huff as he glanced over their small camp. As he watched Neji and Lee show an amazing amount of teamwork in putting up the tent, his vision started becoming fuzzier.

It was not until he could no longer clearly see the outline of energy around them that Iruka let out a sigh of relief. Though heightened senses made his vision impossibly clear, giving him the ability to see things that human eyes could never detect, the chuunin much preferred seeing his teammates through mortal eyes. Glancing down at his hands, he saw his hands slowly change back to normal and, as he closed his hand into a fist without fear of cutting himself on his own nails, Iruka took a deep breath through his nose, no longer feeling air rush through his neck like it had a few moments ago.

This time, it had taken a surprisingly short amount of time to return to normal, but Iruka knew it was not because his body was growing accustomed to the effects of the jutsu, but because Shikamaru had unknowingly pushed his humanity back on him. Reminding Iruka that he was truly kind at heart, that he would do anything to make others happy, forced the chuunin to return from that dark place he had been.

Glancing over at the youngest member of their team, Iruka could see the small smirk on his face, which told the teacher Shikamaru had noticed that the effects had worn off – that he was looking at his old academy teacher and not the creature Iruka temporarily turned into after performing his transportation jutsu. Chuckling, Iruka brought a hand up and mussed the teen's hair like he used to when Shikamaru was just a child. The teen could only jokingly glare at him as he felt his neat ponytail being messed up, his hair loosening out of the band and coming to stand up in all directions once Iruka's hand left his head.

"Thank you, Shikamaru," Iruka said softly, his voice the one the Nara teen remembered from all his years at the academy. When he was younger, he did not know much about Iruka other than that he was a wonderful teacher. Having gotten to know the man in the past few weeks, Shikamaru found himself describing that voice as young-sounding. Though not as youthful as his own voice, he could clearly hear that Iruka was not the older shinobi everyone thought him to be. If anything else, he had more in common with the children he taught than the parents and other shinobi he always dealt with.

Studying his old teacher for a moment, the Nara could not help but wonder what it had to have been like for the man to begin teaching at thirteen – taking care of a hyper blonde when he was only a child himself. Iruka did not have the childhood others seemed to dismiss as a normal part of life – he was forced to grow up faster than anyone else Shikamaru knew. Though he did not act like it affected him in the least, the observant Nara could see the lines in his face and the wisdom in his eyes that told the teen Iruka had been changed from the lighthearted twenty-year old he was supposed to be because of it.

Shikamaru could not help but smile slightly at Iruka's words. The older brunet didn't have to explain his gratitude – Shikamaru had seen the compassion return to Iruka's eyes when he had leaned against him, displaying he still trusted and cared for his old teacher, despite having seen the changes in Iruka due to that evil-feeling chakra that was taking over him. For a moment, the Nara had to wonder if Iruka would be so easily brought back if he had sunk deeper into that dark place. Though he did not fully understand what was causing Iruka to change, he had a thought that made his stomach turn. Something about the chuunin's eyes, tinted with sadness, told Shikamaru that if Iruka lost the control he said he still had over himself, there might not be any 'returning to normal' for the gentle chuunin, and the danger he spoke of would become a frightening reality.

--

B.Z.: Well that was ADORABLE! And I think this chapter was great. Though I'm sure people are getting anxious and impatient, wanting to get to the big showdown between Ru-ru and Kashi...I know I am...I just hope that, in the end, there will be a happy ending...They deserve one after everything that's happened.

Authoress: Yosh! I think we're done for this chapter!! I hope everyone enjoyed it! And please review so I know what you guys think!! So, until next time, ja ne!


	6. Dark Reunion Part I

Authoress: Yosh! I'm back again with another chapter to Scars Fade!! Just to explain a little bit about the making of this chapter…this and next chapter actually were originally one…but it was insanely long, so we broke it down so no one would be overwhelmed by it all! Also, the reason for writing so much…I have been inspired to finish this story because I have gotten into my number one choice in medical schools (a year early, I might add)!! YOSH!! Now, on to the story! And just as a quick comment, I'm skipping forwards a bit so we can get to the reunion between our two favorite shinobi!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…could you imagine if I did!?

**Chapter Five**

Shikamaru took a deep breath as he focused his energy on whoever was approaching him. Having turned in his reconnaissance mission report to Tsunade only an hour ago, he had come here to relax for a little while and clear his mind, but he had lost his chance now that he was no longer alone. He could sense them more than hear their movements, which immediately told him they were shinobi, but there was also something that told him that he did not have to worry about their presence. Whoever was silently coming towards him had better have a good reason for disturbing him.

Cracking open an eye as he sensed whoever the newcomer was stop, Shikamaru could only raise an eyebrow when he saw two faces peering down at him. At once, he recognized them, though it was slightly difficult from the fresh bruises on the one, but Shikamaru had seen both of them looking far worse in their three months together. Feeling the corners of his mouth pulling upwards, Shikamaru slowly sat up and turned to look at the two teens.

"About time you got back," he commented nonchalantly, as he tried to hide his excitement. He had a reputation of uncaring laziness to uphold, no matter who stopped him from gazing up at the clouds. He could not help but smirk slightly; it had been over a month since he had last seen the teammates, who had quickly turned into friends in their three months of shared hardships. His façade quickly fell as he watched the younger of the two slowly lower himself to the ground. From the hesitant movements, as well as the soft hiss that escaped the boy's lips, he guessed the teen was more injured than his blackened eyes and broken nose let on.

"We have returned!" Lee all but squealed as he followed Neji and plopped himself down on the ground between the other two teens. "Our missions were successes in proving the vigorous spirit of youth!"

"And the broken nose?" Shikamaru had to ask as he studied Neji's face. He had to admit that, despite the darkened rings around the teen's eyes, the teen was almost too handsome for his own good. The newly acquired unevenness to his nose gave a rakish air to the customarily stoic teen. Quite often during their months of exams together, Shikamaru mocked Neji for his good, if not slightly effeminate, looks. Neji glared at him for a moment before finally replying.

"…I got back two days ago…" was all he said in response as he looked down at the ground where his hands were idly playing with a blade of grass. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at the statement, wondering if that comment was somehow supposed to explain why Neji looked like hell. Even in their second exam, when Neji had received a bad set of injuries due to being nearly crushed by a falling tree, the Hyuuga had not looked so pitiful. Then again, Neji was unconscious for a great deal of his rapid healing that particular time, thanks to Iruka's medical skills.

"Neji has finally sought after the fruits of love!" Lee cried out, his explanation even making less sense to Shikamaru than Neji's had. Somehow sensing the youngest teen's confusion, Lee deigned it necessary to elaborate. "They were too youthful to wait…" Turning to look at his old teammate, Lee sighed and spoke with a surprisingly serious tone. "But the hallway outside his apartment?"

Shikamaru's eyes widened slightly as a few of his friends' comments started to click into place. He was unsure if it was because he had grown used to Lee's cryptic speech in all their time together, or if his genius level IQ made him more perceptive than most, but whatever the reason, he took a quick intake of breath before letting out a snort of laughter. "Why do I have the feeling that those injures came from his siblings?"

"They weren't supposed to be back for a few hours…" Neji huffed as he delicately touched his discolored cheek. "The nose was an accident…Kankuro got a little overzealous in telling me how I better never hurt him…"

"But the hallway?" Shikamaru repeated Lee's question, now finally making sense of it all, and he could not help but be amazed – and slightly disgusted – at the idea of Neji being overcome by his emotions to the point of doing anything remotely passionate in public. The closest he had ever seen Neji get to being emotional was when he had been captured in a jutsu that made him relive his worst memory repeatedly. Thankfully, Lee was unexplainably immune to the jutsu – perhaps because he had little in the way of bad memories. Had it not been for the boy's happy childhood, Shikamaru, Iruka, and Neji would have most certainly followed other shinobi, who had been caught in the kunoichi's trap, to their deaths.

"…we couldn't find his keys…"

"And I'm sure a full cavity search was necessary, ne?" Shikamaru quickly retorted, a lecherous tone to his voice. He couldn't stop himself from smirking when he saw a flush of crimson rush across the few sections of Neji's cheeks, that were not already some shade of purple. When not annoying Neji until that vein popped out on his forehead, Shikamaru could not help but find sport in making the high-strung, slightly prudish boy blush. "So, what were your missions on?" he asked, wanting to get away from the topic of Neji and the Kazekage being caught in an intimate embrace, before his mind started putting images to it.

"Lee went to Suna and I went to Cloud…" Neji replied, the hardening of his features telling Shikamaru that he did not want to speak about his mission. Recalling his own assignment, Shikamaru understood Neji's reaction. The moment he realized he had to silence the guard or, not only fail his mission, but risk losing his own life, was not something he would ever want to tell anyone about. It was enough to be woken in the middle of the night, feeling as though that warm liquid was still seeping between his fingers as he listened to the last few gurgles of a man drowning in his own blood, his windpipe severed so that he couldn't even get the chance to make a sound. He doubted he would be able to get a decent night's sleep for a while.

"Mist," Shikamaru offered up, not wanting to go into detail just as much as Neji. Letting out a sigh, he glanced up at the sky and found himself wondering if they had been sent on their specific missions for a reason. As the youngest testers, people would most certainly not believe them to be worthy of jounin status, so they would be tested harder than other, more mature, shinobi. Why else would he have received a near-suicidal mission to infiltrate Mist and steal one of their sacred scrolls? He had almost been killed on countless occasions, but he somehow was able to save his own skin and get away with the small, seemingly harmless scroll explaining a water jutsu.

"I wonder when Iruka will be back…" Neji offered up, quickly changing the topic before any of them could dwell on their life-altering missions too long. "I spoke to Gaara…he's been following the exam and has heard some interesting things. Apparently Iruka got assigned the most difficult mission…"

"They're all meant to be equal in difficulty," Shikamaru pointed out with a sigh. He knew his mission was particularly hard because it was the first time he had ever been forced to take a life so ruthlessly, and he had to admit that he hated the feeling of watching another being die by his hands. It was by no means his first death, which made it easier to come to grips with. Also, the second exam of two months of brutal survival with Neji, Lee, and Iruka, had given him several experiences that he knew would haunt him for some time. It was hard to rationalize the deaths he had been party to, but what made it worse was that those deaths could have been avoided if he had not taken the jounin exam in the first place. The logical side of him could only point out that, had he not entered the exam, someone else would have gotten his missions and there still would have been the chance of someone dying. As it stood, nearly a third of the testers were killed, maimed, or otherwise unable to take the rest of the test in that second exam, which was the average. Of those that were left for the third exam, Shikamaru could only begin to imagine how many had failed in their solo reconnaissance missions.

"…he was the only tester to be sent to Sound…" Neji replied softly as he bowed his head. "No one's heard anything from him…there are rumors that he failed…" Neji's words drifted off as the dark-haired teen kept his gaze on the ground. He refused to let Lee and Shikamaru see that his eyes held the definite glint of fresh tears. He did not know how to break it to either teen that there was the chance Iruka would never return. If he was caught by Sound shinobi, he would most certainly be killed. Perhaps he would be tortured first, but most definitely, he would die by their hands. The thought that a person as amazing as Iruka might be gone left a hole in the boy's heart.

"He didn't…" Shikamaru replied calmly as he leaned back on his palms, looking slightly smug as he looked past the two older teens now staring at him curiously. "Unless you believe in ghosts…" At those words, Lee and Neji followed his gaze and saw the man slowly walking towards them. Lee was the first up, quickly followed by Shikamaru. Had it not been for his injuries, Neji was sure he would have embarrassed himself and been the first one to jump up and run to the tanned man. As it stood, Lee beat him to it and all but lifted the older shinobi in the air as he clung to him, ranting on about how youth could never die.

"Did I die and not know it?" Iruka asked jokingly as soon as Lee let him back down. Glancing up at the other two teens slowly approaching him, disbelief in their faces, Iruka felt a pang of emotion run through his chest. It didn't take more than a quick glance to see their eyes were glistening, and Iruka couldn't help but feel a strange sort of happiness at realizing they had been mourning him.

"How did you survive?" Shikamaru finally posed the question all three teens wanted desperately to ask, his voice shaking as he looked up into his old teacher's face. Iruka let out a chuckle, wondering where the teens had gotten the idea that he was in such danger. "You were sent to Sound…"

"I was…" Iruka agreed, the corner of his lip twitching as he tried to contain a smirk. He had disliked his mission immensely, but he knew he was lucky enough to have not had to use deadly force on anyone in his reconnaissance. He'd had some close calls where the only thing that saved him was a quick jutsu or two that Mizutamari Mari had taught him years ago, when he showed an interest in learning how to spy on people. Because of those lessons in his childhood, he had been able to melt into the very ground or surrounding plant life in order to hide himself from an approaching Sound shinobi before they saw him. Had it not been for the fact his jutsu was quite demonic in origin, he knew they would have been able to sense his presence immediately, but because of his unique abilities, he was as invisible to them as he could have ever possibly hoped.

"And you got what you were sent for?" Neji asked softly as he studied Iruka for any physical signs of harm, but the academy teacher looked to be in perfect health, unlike himself. Iruka raised an eyebrow at Neji's unsubtle inspection, a part of him quite curious as well, though his concerned the teen's injuries. They did not look like the work of a failed mission. If anything, it seemed like Neji had been beaten up. It did not help matters that the observant teacher caught a glimpse of a suspicious looking mark on the Hyuuga's neck.

"I had to watch them for any unusual activity…there was none," Iruka replied, wondering if the three teens would appreciate what he felt when he had caught a glimpse of another one of his old students for the first time in many months. Though the boy's physical features had changed very little, there was something about him that screamed he was no longer the quiet, brooding boy Iruka had once known. One thing he was sure of, however, was that he would not tell Naruto he had seen Sasuke. If he did, he knew Naruto would go off and try to bring the Uchiha back and probably just hurt himself in the process.

Recalling how Sasuke had simply sat there on the edge of the forest, scarlet eyes scanning the tree line, Iruka had wondered if the Uchiha somehow knew he was there. If anyone could sense his presence, it would be someone with the Sharingan or the Byakugan, but Iruka had to quell the fear of being discovered as he repeated to himself that his jutsu were not human, so there was little chance any human could sense him. It was something he remembered stumbling upon months ago with Mizutamari Mari, though Iruka was unsure who they had tried that unique mixture of human and demonic jutsu on. Naruto would have most certainly sensed him because of the Kyuubi, but Iruka didn't know of anyone else he would trust enough with such a display. Not even Anko knew the full extent of his capabilities.

As he observed Sasuke, Iruka had lost the ability to breathe as those blood-red eyes turned to his exact location and seemed to stare directly into his, though Iruka was certain Sasuke could not see him. There was something in those unnaturally shaded orbs that Iruka could not help but recognize. He knew it would be difficult to keep his personal observations to himself, but he knew Sasuke well enough to understand that the raven-haired teen would never want anyone to know he was lonely and afraid. It was the one thing he had lied about in his mission report, denying that he had seen any Konoha traitors while in the Hidden Village of Sound. How could he tell Tsunade that he had seen Sasuke, but had done nothing but watch the young missing nin draw his knees up to his chest, and wrap impossibly pale arms around his legs? What about describing how he had finally broken the eerie staring contest with Iruka as he dropped his head down against his knees, his shoulders shaking gently as he took deep breaths?

At that moment, Iruka had realized that he had not been seen, but that Sasuke was being reminded of Konoha and his decision to desert his friends, all for the sake of vengeance. Iruka was unsure if it was the heavily wooded area Sasuke had been staring at so intently, or if it was, in some way, his own presence there that had set the boy off so, but whatever it was, Iruka had clearly seen how much Sasuke was regretting his decision.

It had taken all of his strength to keep from breaking his jutsu and going to his old student – his son's best friend and first love. He had desperately wanted to comfort the teen, but he knew that the moment he stepped out of the tree he was hiding in, he would be killed by any number of Sound shinobi that he had sensed following Sasuke, though they were smart enough to keep their distance from the boy when he wordlessly revealed he wanted to be alone. As good bodyguards, however, they were still within a close enough distance to come to Sasuke's aid – or to attack an enemy shinobi who appeared out of nowhere. Instead, Iruka was tortured by the soft sniffle he heard come from the teen before Sasuke began furiously wiping at his eyes, erasing any wetness from his face.

"Our missions were meant to be revealing," Shikamaru finally said softly, as he watched the emotions run across Iruka's face. Though his mission was a success, Iruka obviously was tormented by something that had occurred while gathering information in the Hidden Village of Sound. Glancing over at the other two of their odd group, Shikamaru could only wonder what Neji and Lee were forced to face in their missions.

"A shinobi has to learn to ignore their emotions," Iruka commented, his tone an obvious agreement with Shikamaru's observation. Taking a deep breath, the teacher reached out a hand and placed it on the youngest shinobi's shoulder. "It is a lesson all of us had to learn…"

"And now we have to risk everything against three jounin," Neij offered as he studied Iruka, wondering what the kind-hearted teacher had had to face in his mission. The Hyuuga had been forced to watch as a clan, much like his own, fell apart because of suspicion and bitterness between its divided branches. His mission had been to simply observe, but he couldn't stop himself from interfering on one occasion. One particular household had caught his interest, not only because it was the family of the clan leader, but because of the little girl with haunting eyes. He had been forced to discover what made her gaze so hollow and emotionless as he watched from his perch outside her window. A part of him desperately wanted to close his eyes and shut out her soft cries as she was violently beaten by her father, who hated her simply because she was not the son he had wanted and that he blamed her for killing his wife, her mother. The Hyuuga had also learned that night that he had a fierce protective streak as well.

Before he had even registered that he had moved from his position on the tree branch, he'd found his arms around the shaking, huddled form of the girl. She had been so small, so light, that it was obvious, as he lifted her in his arms and pulled her out of the reach of her drunken father, that she had never known what it felt like to have enough to eat. Almost as soon as he had put her down a safe distance from the man, who was still registering that there was someone else in the room, Neji rushed towards the man. Ironically, the man had dark hair, but pale eyes and skin. In a way, he was reminded of his own uncle, though he almost immediately regretted even imagining such a comparison between his father's twin, and that monster.

He could still remember the feel of his kunai slipping between ribs, tearing delicate organs to shreds, as he wrenched his blade to the side. The man had let out a soft gasp, but that was the only sound he'd made before crumpling to the floor, a dark pool of blood quickly staining the wooden boards beneath them. Neji had entered the room so quickly, and then attacked the man with the speed only another shinobi could appreciate, that there had been no chance to call an alarm. No one but the little girl ever knew he was there, but Neji still found himself turning towards her, as he considered the blade in his hands. Almost as soon as the notion of quieting her permanently entered his mind, he quickly cleaned off the blade and put it away before he could ever frighten himself with such an uncaring, heartless thought again.

Instead, Neji slowly walked towards her, kneeling at her side and simply watched her until she raised her eyes up to look at him. For a moment, the teen had been floored by the surge of emotion that raced through him as he looked into her pale eyes. Perhaps centuries ago, their families shared a common ancestor or that it was purely coincidental, but for whatever reason, the girl reminded him so much of Hinata that Neji couldn't help but feel a wave of self-recrimination. He had never once protected his cousin from her father's verbal abuse, and he couldn't help but regret being so spiteful towards her throughout their childhood. The little girl only sat there silently with saddened features that compelled him to reach out and brush back a tendril of hair from her pale face.

He had spoken softly to her, knowing not to raise his voice to anything above a mere whisper, because it was obvious she was almost as afraid of him as of her father. He had told her not to be frightened, that he had only wanted to protect her. It was then, as he was speaking to her, that he realized her eyes never focused on him. She was blind. It was a small blessing that she had not witnessed her father's death; she had only heard him gasp and fall to the ground. That realization had hurt Neji more than he thought possible. The girl had not seen her father die, but she was still so afraid his powerful fists were going to come back and beat her that she cringed away from Neji's gentle touches.

After a few hours of softly speaking to the girl, Neji found himself opening up to her in ways he would have been aghast to do years ago. He told her not only his name, but about his own childhood and why he had come to her village. By the time he had exhausted all the topics he could think of, including several fairytales he recalled from his early, happier, years when his father was still alive, Neji found his voice hoarse from use. His legs were numb from kneeling at her bedside so long, his eyes burning from a lack of sleep, but he felt better than he could ever recall feeling before.

In a way, talking to the girl had been a cathartic experience for him; it was the first time he had opened up to anyone and told them of his own fears and misgivings. What was most rewarding, however, was that, when he finally fell silent after hours of whispering to her, he caught a glimpse of the barest of smiles grace her features. And, with that, he got up, his body screaming after being in such a position for so long, and moved to leave. Though she was blind, she somehow knew he was leaving without as much as a farewell. As Neji slipped over the low windowsill, he heard something that made his chest ache with an indescribable array of emotions.

"_Thank you"_ was the only thing the little girl said, but her voice was so soft, angelic even, that Neji could not get the sound out of his head. Even now, he could clearly recall her words and the grateful tone, with a bittersweet feeling. He had stuck around for a few more days to watch over her. When her father's body was discovered, everyone assumed she had killed him, but there was no retribution. If anything, they congratulated the quiet girl. Though her father was brothers with their clan's leader, the wise old man said that his brother had finally received what he deserved for harming such a wonderful child. Instead, the wise patriarch took the, otherwise orphaned, girl in as his own, sitting her up on his knee as he told her stories about how their family was related to the gods.

The last Neji saw of the child, she was standing at her father's grave, her features unreadable, but Neji could somehow tell she was, for the first time in her life, truly happy. He had heard her soft promise and he could not help but feel his chest tighten at her words.

"_I will become a shinobi one day…one that my hero can be proud of._"

Hero…it was a term Neji never thought could ever be used in reference to him, but the girl saw him as her savior, though he did little more than murder someone because he momentarily lost the control shinobi were famous for. A part of him could not help but disagree with Iruka and Shikamaru. He had learned to hide his emotions early on in life because of his upbringing; his mission was not a reminder of that, but a lesson in how he had to show them more often. Had he not acted on impulse, he knew that that sweet little girl would have been killed by her father, eventually.

He had not wanted to speak about his mission with his friends, not because it brought back nightmarish actions he was forced into performing as part of his assignment, but because it reminded him of how positively evil he had been to Hinata, and how she deserved so much better. All he was sure of was that, after the exams were over, he would beg for his cousin's forgiveness and, perhaps, she would find it in her saintly heart to give him the chance to start over.

"It will be dangerous…" Neji was torn from his thoughts when he heard Iruka speak quietly, his tone revealing the severity of their final examination. To have gotten this far was an accomplishment for any shinobi, but for people as young as them, it was almost impossible and there would certainly be a few jounin examiners who would immediately dislike them for their age and inexperience. Neji knew that they would be tested most harshly because there were not many people who believed they were ready to be jounin. In Iruka's case, he would be tested ruthlessly because of his kind nature. People could not possibly see him as an elite jounin, when he was famous for his gentle temperament and ability to teach any child. Iruka's one greatest strength – his love for his students – would most certainly be his greatest weakness in the final exam if he was not paired with jounin who understood his dedication.

"Statistically, our chances of passing are insignificant," Shikamaru pointed out lazily, as he stretched his arms back behind his head. "If we do pass, it is because of skill, strategy, and luck."

"It can also be determination," Neji replied quietly as he recalled the little girl whose name he had never even learned. Her declaration of becoming a shinobi had breathed new life into him; he would pass this final test or die trying. Glancing at his friends, he could see the same promise in their eyes and, for a moment, Neji could only wonder what the chances of all of them passing were. He didn't have to do any calculations – Shikamaru's eyes told him that there was a snowball's chance in hell that more than one of them would make it through the final exam. Every jounin exam, only a handful passed the final test, but the possibility of a majority of them being Konoha shinobi, was impossibly low.

"Our youthful spirit will aid us in our venture!" Lee cried out, pumping a fist into the air, before posing in a very Gai-like fashion. The rest of the group otherwise ignored him as they looked down, lost in their own thoughts. What both Shikamaru and Neji said was correct. Skill, luck, strategy, determination…those four qualities would determine whether they lived or died in their final exam. They no longer could speak in terms of passing or failing – this was now an issue they were betting their lives on.

Iruka studied the three teens, wondering if there was any way of improving their chances. He smirked when he recalled one of the things Gai and Anko had told him about the final exam. "All you have to do is impress them enough to want you promoted to jounin…if you cannot impress them, use any means necessary to get them to pass you," he commented softly. At those words, his old students stared at him with widening eyes, proving that Iruka was right in his interpretation of their dismal view on the final exam.

"We don't have to beat them?" Shikamaru asked softly, inwardly cursing Asuma for giving him that impression. Then again, he couldn't help but thank his teacher for doing so – it had given him the necessary motivation to train, day and night, until he was confident in his own abilities.

"That would be suicide…" Iruka stated with a chuckle. Though they were not required to beat three jounin, it did not make their final test any less dangerous. In order to impress a jounin, he knew it would take a great deal of cunning and, most likely, every ounce of strength he had. Though examiners were told to _try_ to keep the testers alive, it was not forbidden to mortally wound or outright kill them. Some examiners were harsher than others, though Iruka knew that, for the most part, Konoha's jounin had a very good record of keeping all those who reached the final test alive. When they did take a life, it was, more often than not, due to a jounin's quick reflexes as they were protecting themselves. They never intentionally killed, but their instincts sometimes were animalistic and overrode their rationality when their own life was on the line.

"Our chances are greatly improved, then…" Neji commented, trying to hide his excitement. He was so sure he would have to fight and win against three jounin that he had not considered the possibility that he was not required to win, but to prove himself worthy of the promotion.

"It will still be very dangerous, but as long as you three show the examiners _half_ of what I know you're capable of, they will certainly pass you," Iruka stated with a smile, his dark mood, after having seen Sasuke, disappearing under the infectious energy of the three teens.

"Same goes for you, Iruka…well…maybe less than half," Shikamaru retorted good-naturedly as he clasped his old teacher's shoulder. He recalled his conversation with Iruka from a few months ago about his unique abilities and couldn't help but wonder if Iruka had ever used the full extent of his skills. The Nara could not even begin to imagine what Iruka could do, if he had been holding himself back all this time.

--

Kakashi raised an eyebrow as he watched the Kazekage at his desk, pouring over scroll upon scroll of Konoha's history. Since arriving in the village, Gaara had – for reasons no one fully understood – been driven to learn more about Konoha and how it was run. Part of it, Kakashi was sure, was due to his interest as a kage, but the jounin had a feeling there was more to it than that. There was also a great deal of Konoha's history that dealt with the ancient clans and, having heard about Kankuro's run in with his brother and a certain Hyuuga the other day, Kakashi understood why Gaara had been requesting scrolls on the clans for the past two days.

He had been silently observing the boy for a few hours and could not help but notice the slight blush that came to the teen's pale cheeks as he flipped through several pages before finding whatever he was looking for on his unorganized desk. Scribbling something down, the young leader went back to reading, unconsciously sucking on the end of his brush, as sea-green eyes raced across neatly written characters.

Few people, other than Kakashi and the rest of the Sabaku family, knew Gaara had a hunger for learning. When he couldn't find Gaara training or in some mundane meeting, Kakashi knew to look for the boy in the nearest library. Back in Suna, Gaara had an impressive personal library, so he had little need to go out into the village to fill his unquenchable thirst for information. In Konoha, however, it was a toss up whether Gaara had meandered into a bookstore, a small library, or had made the trek over to the Hokage Tower to use the Hokage's own library, whenever he went missing.

Taking a step closer to the young leader, Kakashi peered over his shoulder to read a few characters, and found his jaw dropping, as he realized Gaara had put aside his desire to learn more about Konoha, for far more interesting – and much less wholesome – lessons. Recognizing several paragraphs as those from Jiraiya's novels, as well some scrolls as raunchy poetry, and quite a few instructional manuals, Kakashi had to bite back an outright snort. It was no wonder he had been catching glimpses of Gaara blushing for the past few hours.

Coughing quietly in order to gain the kage's attention, Kakashi nearly flew back when Gaara jumped up from his seat, obviously not noticing the jounin was right behind him. Taking a few quick steps backwards, so he would not be hit by the chair that was propelled backwards, as the Kazekage all but raced to cover up his research material. Kakashi could not help but be amused at the boy's obvious embarrassment.

"Neji is one lucky bastard," Kakashi commented, receiving a stunned look from the boy. Deer-in-the-headlights would have been an apt description of the redheaded kage, as he stared at Kakashi. "Not all lovers go off to research sex…I wish some of mine had…" he added with a chuckle as he watched the teen's cheeks turn a color resembling his hair.

"We haven't…I mean…Kankuro…and…" This would, most certainly, be the first time Kakashi had ever caught Gaara at a loss for words, so much so, that the boy was reduced to stuttering. Seeing his bodyguard's obvious amusement, Gaara's eyes narrowed and he glared at the older man.

"No need to be so nervous," Kakashi said, raising his hands in surrender, understanding that, in his own way, Gaara had been trying to proclaim his intact virginity. "I was just wondering what about Konoha's history was making you blush…" That only riled Gaara's already bad mood as the redhead pursed his lips, obviously trying to remind himself that murdering one's own bodyguard and advisor was bad. "If you have any questions, you're more than welcome to ask…"

"I don't need your advice…" Gaara tersely responded as he moved to start tidying up his desk, rolling up scrolls and stacking pages upon pages of meticulously copied information. The young leader momentarily faltered when he heard Kakashi speak again.

"But it'd be a hell of a lot less awkward asking me than Kankuro," Kakashi pointed out logically as he shifted to lean against the edge of the Kazekage's now cleared desk. For a moment, he couldn't help but wonder if Gaara was going to throttle him, or otherwise inflict bodily harm, but was slightly surprised when the boy turned to look at him appraisingly.

"Is it normal…to feel like this?" The boy finally asked, his voice so soft Kakashi had to strain to even hear him. Seeing the teen's pink cheeks, Kakashi thought of a whole host of "feelings" Gaara might be referring to. Obviously understanding the jounin's silence as a request to elaborate, Gaara reluctantly continued, "I am not sure how to describe it…I want…something…but…"

"It is called lust, desire…and quite a few other things. It's perfectly normal," Kakashi replied, doing his best to keep a straight face. Cursing inwardly, he realized this would have been the perfect time to have the lower half of his face covered, but he forewent that article of clothing whenever he was alone with the Kazekage, or out of the public eye.

"How do I get rid of it?" Gaara posed the question with a mixture of seriousness and embarrassment. Kakashi had gotten to know the quiet leader well enough to realize how mortifying this entire conversation was for the redhead, and for Gaara to even be asking him such questions, meant that the boy had an astonishing amount of faith and trust in Kakashi. A part of the jounin almost wanted to tell the little leader that he did not deserve to have such a level of trust placed in him.

"A lot of ways…Neji could certainly help out, but since he'll be taking the final exam in the next few days, you would have to wait for him…but there are other ways…" Kakashi stated, feeling the corner of his mouth twitching upwards. Upon first meeting Gaara, he would have never guessed he would have to explain things such as sex and masturbation to the boy – especially when all of these emotions were due to the gloomy Hyuuga Neji.

"Kankuro told me about those _ways_ years ago…I would never…" Gaara retorted and, if Kakashi had to describe his tone and body language, he would most certainly say the boy was being priggish. No longer able to hold back the smirk, Kakashi had to hide his mouth behind a hand as he sniggered at Gaara's affronted response.

"Then you will have to suffer until Neji is done with his exam…it could be up to a month before he actually tests…" Kakashi teased, being comfortable enough in Gaara's presence to know how much to annoy the boy, before it went beyond mocking and became hurtful. This was, most certainly, getting close to the invisible line between friendly banter and mean jokes, but the blush on Gaara's face told Kakashi he had not gone too far yet.

"Then I will wait," Gaara responded firmly as he glared at Kakashi for daring to chuckle at his promise. "If you do not think I can wait, you are most certainly wrong…"

"Care to bet on that?" Kakashi quickly asked having seen Gaara's eyes flash when the teen realized the jounin didn't believe him. "You wouldn't be able to make it a month…I say no more than two weeks before you can't take it anymore…and either drag Neji back to your room, or relieve yourself."

"I'll take that bet…only under one condition," Gaara replied as he studied his bodyguard with a penetrating gaze. Kakashi nodded his head, not caring what Gaara's stipulation was, so long as he got the boy to take his bet. It was a sure win; Kakashi remembered his own teenage years. Once he started feeling a host of emotions towards Obito, there was little that could keep his hands off of his lover, short of a disapproving glance from their sensei. "Tell me about your lover."

Kakashi looked at the redhead for a moment, before smirking and asking, "Which one?" to which he received a withering glare from his charge. Letting out a sigh, he leaned more of his weight on the sturdy desk and folded his arms across his chest. It wasn't as difficult to open up to Gaara as one would imagine; he had been fighting with himself, since returning to Konoha, as to whether or not he should tell the boy the entire story. In a sick way, he wanted to see Gaara look at him with disgust and hatred. "We actually started out disliking each other. I was a lazy idiot to him, and I couldn't help but hate him for his naivety. Then we reached an agreement on how to treat my team.

"I don't know which one of us started it, but we forged a close friendship. He was not naïve…anything but. He was the first person to challenge me in a long time – he was the one person who really tried to get to know me. He was someone that, against all odds, I found myself comfortable around."

"What happened, then?" Gaara asked, as he slowly sat back down in his chair, his attention entirely focused on the jounin staring down at the floor with a mixed expression as he recalled his relationship with a certain teacher. "How did you go from friends to lovers?"

Kakashi let out a soft snort at that question, as he tilted his head back, closing his eyes as he took a deep, steadying breath. "It started out with a few kisses when he least expected them…when I least expected them…it was the first time I felt emotions like that since…since my first lover..."

"When we were first getting to know each other, I found myself enjoying his company, but soon I couldn't go a day without at least seeing him. Strange as it sounds," Kakashi said with a bitter laugh. "I would visit the academy before going to meet with my team, just so I could hear him every day. I never interrupted his classes…I was content just to listen."

"What's wrong with that?" Gaara questioned quietly as he studied the silver-haired jounin. He wasn't sure if Kakashi realized that, without his mask on, the jounin's emotions were visible to anyone with two eyes, but Gaara knew he was more perceptive than most, so he was easily able to even see the emotions that Kakashi was still desperately trying to hide.

"Nothing, I guess. But we were friends, and I was starting to act like some lovesick puppy…I would annoy him for no other reason than to get a reaction out of him, visit him whenever I got the chance, and probably aggravated him to no end. I know I'm not the easiest person to be around. Even Gai and my other friends say I grate on their nerves after an hour or so, but he didn't seem to mind me, so I latched onto that. He was the first person in a long time who really seemed to _like_ me, not because of my abilities, my infamy, or anything other than _me_."

"One day, I just leaned over and kissed him. I couldn't stop myself, despite knowing that I would probably destroy our friendship by doing so, but he didn't seem to mind. If anything, he wanted to kiss me just as much, though I have no idea why. After that…everything went downhill. It was the first time I lost control around him…the next time was the first time I sensed that demonic chakra. He revealed a jutsu to me…one that not even my Sharingan could detect, but I knew it had to be an illusion."

"Why?" Gaara asked, enraptured with Kakashi's story. It was the first time he had ever heard the man speak with such emotion that he didn't want the tale to end, but at the same time, he could see the strain that remembering such events was putting on the jounin. The possibility of a jutsu existing that could trick the Sharingan amazed the boy as well as the demon he contained.

"There were two of them…identical, but…not. I could tell which one was Iruka…I didn't feel the same things towards the other one. If anything, I was slightly afraid of that one. There was something inhuman about him, not only because he was finding pleasure in my confusion and fear. I can't explain it…

"After that day, I became wary of him…the ANBU in me could not help but try gauging how much of a danger he was to the village. He refused to tell me what exactly he was…what that jutsu of his was. Then, Sasuke left and Naruto followed him." Kakashi took a ragged gasp of air, recalling how his heart had plummeted at the sight of Naruto's still frame. "Naruto nearly died. Had it not been for the Kyuubi, he would have. I can't imagine how I would have dealt with losing both of them…but when I returned…I couldn't face him…I couldn't tell him that I was the reason Naruto was nearly dead…I couldn't protect my students…I couldn't save them."

"That wasn't your fault," Gaara pointed out quietly when Kakashi stopped to take a breath. The jounin glanced up from the floor and gave him a disbelieving look. Kakashi obviously blamed himself for Sasuke's betrayal and Naruto's brush with death, as though he had been there, pushing the boys towards that end.

"I am a jounin…I should have been able to stop them. Instead, I found myself at his apartment in the middle of the night. I think I went there to apologize…to beg for his forgiveness. I don't remember much between dropping Naruto off at the hospital and finding myself on his windowsill. He attacked me, but ended up crying on my shoulder. Because of his less-than-legal adoption of Naruto, he was unable to even see him…he couldn't even see, with his own two eyes, that Naruto was still alive…"

"I have never comforted someone before – no one would ever want me to comfort them if they had a choice…so I had no idea what to do. I ended up kissing him…or he kissed me first. I have no idea."

Gaara closed his eyes, a part of him understanding exactly what Kakashi meant by not knowing who made the first move. Two days ago, seeing Neji leaning against his apartment door was one of the greatest moments of his life, but he could not recall which one of them had moved first. All he knew was that the taller teen had him pinned against a wall, crushing their mouths together in reckless need. It was glorious, but at the same time, it frightened the Kazekage at how much he lost control of himself in that moment. All he wanted, all he needed, was the teen pressed up against him, his hands fumbling with thick kage robes.

"Next thing I know, we are on his bed…" Kakashi trailed off, nowhere near comfortable with discussing that pleasurable event with Gaara. If the boy had been a little older and, had he not so badly destroyed his relationship with Iruka, it might be a little easier to talk about, but as things stood, he was incapable of voicing the words to describe the rush of heat and indescribable emotion that ran through him as he took Iruka. "I was rough with him…I couldn't help myself."

"So you hurt him..." Gaara stated matter-of-factly as he recalled his earlier information gathering. He had read in a number of books how tearing was possible, but he could not imagine two people, who cared so much for one another, ever harming each other.

"He fell asleep after…and I panicked." Kakashi lowered his head again, a bitter smile coming to his face. "I left before thinking things through. All I knew was that he deserved better than me and that, come morning, he would realize that…and he would hate me for what I did to him."

"Did you ever talk to him about it?" Gaara asked, his tone gentle, as he studied his bodyguard. Kakashi shook his head as he continued to stare at the floor. "Maybe you were wrong…did you ever think he cared about you?"

"How could he?" Kakashi questioned scathingly, as his gaze narrowed. "I went back the next night…to apologize again…but he was in bed with his girlfriend."

"_Girlfriend_?" Gaara was not prone to gaping, but that was the only way to describe his expression, as he stared at Kakashi, slowly starting to understand the twisted relationship between the man and the lover he had hurt so much, who had hurt him in return.

"A friend of mine…they had been together a while, but kept their relationship a secret because she was a jounin and he a chuunin…" Kakashi explained quietly, recalling his late-night discussion with Naruto nearly a year ago. "He never told me about her…had I known, I would have never slept with him…I took advantage of him. He was distraught after everything with Naruto and I used him…"

"Was there any way you could have misinterpreted things?" Gaara asked gently, hoping that Kakashi had been his usual emotionally-idiotic self and just misunderstood his lover and this woman's relationship. Seeing the jounin shake his head, Gaara could not help but wonder what would have possessed someone to hurt the silver-haired man to such a degree. Perhaps Kakashi was right and the teacher had not meant to sleep with him, but that did not explain the shared kisses and touches, Kakashi's eyes told the teen, they shared long before that night.

"I think he tried to tell me once…he said he had a secret relationship…I had thought he was joking at the time…" Kakashi replied as he brought a hand up to rub the back of his neck. Sighing, he continued, "I had never made such a mistake before…and the realization I destroyed our friendship…it hurt more than I thought it would…I had to leave the village or else I would be tormented with reminders of him…"

"So you fled to Suna?" Gaara said after carefully thinking over his choice of words. He cared a great deal for the jounin, but he had also heard the other side of the story from Tsunade. Iruka could not remember Kakashi after that night. To cope with his actions, the man was forced to forget everything – Gaara could not imagine what the teacher would have gone through for such an action to be necessary. He never asked Tsunade directly, but from her letters, it sounded like the man's amnesia was not accidental or biological. Something was done to protect him from the memories of Kakashi.

Gaara had to suck in a deep breath, as he recalled the days he spent trying to understand Iruka's unique energy, as well as the past few months of pondering over what the man was after Kakashi posed the question. _Such a painful experience could have made him lose his sanity_…Gaara realized as he studied the jounin under new light. Even if it was only for a short time, that night could have made the teacher lose himself to dark emotions. Gaara had been overcome with those same feelings more than once and, since having learned the love of his siblings and what it was to have friends, he regretted every time he lost control in the past. Returning to the possibility that someone purposely erased the teacher's memories, Gaara realized something that had slipped his mind before. Someone with Iruka's chakra – someone who was most certainly not a demon container, but far closer to a demon than any average human could ever be, if by some chance he was not an actual demon – would have to be immensely powerful to control such amazing energy, but if he was overcome with emotion, what would he be capable of?

Taking a deep breath, Gaara made the conscious decision to not tell Kakashi what he knew. It would only result in more pain for the man if he knew he had hurt the teacher so much that his memory was wiped just for him to keep his sanity. "Did you ever love him?" Gaara asked in all seriousness as he watched Kakashi.

"I couldn't trust him…" Kakashi said as he glanced up at Gaara and almost immediately regretted doing so. The young Kazekage was able to read emotions just as accurately as his blonde, chronically-hyper student could, so Kakashi knew there was no way the boy had missed the emotion in his face.

The redhead smirked, his expression slightly saddened, as he nodded his head. Though Kakashi said one thing, his body screamed otherwise. Kakashi had trusted the man with everything – and was more than willing to do so again, so long as the action was returned. He would be willing to put everything – even his very life – on the line if it meant he would get another chance with the academy teacher.

Gaara could only hope it did not come down to that.

--

"I refuse!" Kakashi snapped as he crossed his arms across his chest, glaring at Tsunade. "You know the rules as well as I do…I cannot test anyone I know!"

"No, it is that you cannot test anyone you have a relationship with. You would certainly go easier on someone you cared for, as a friend, family member, or lover, than a mere acquaintance," Tsunade replied as she rubbed the aching spot between her eyebrows. "I cannot repeal the Elders' decision. They think you would be perfect to test him…I tried to argue it, but without evidence of a relationship, I could not stop them from assigning you to him."

"I can't test him…" Kakashi repeated, all the strength gone from his voice, as he sat down in the chair on the other side of the Hokage's desk and cradled his head between shaking fingers. "I know I can't…"

"You are a Konoha shinobi, Kakashi…and an examiner. I cannot repeal their decision, so you better suck up and deal with it. If nothing else, you should be the best person to test Iruka…you, of all people, would know if he is ready to become a jounin…" Tsunade bit back the comments she wanted to make – how she had outright refused to let the Elders use Kakashi as one of Iruka's examiners, pointing out how they were friends, though the old people did not accept her statement, since there was no obvious attempts to speak to one another since Kakashi left for Suna nearly a year ago. As one Elder put it, 'what kinds of friends do not speak for a year?' Looking at Kakashi, Tsunade thought of the perfect answer. _A love-affair gone bad results in a year of ignoring each other…or forgetting the other. _She had not made any mention to anyone other than Kurenai, Anko, and Gaara about Iruka's memory lapse and had no intention of having the Elders discover how emotionally fragile Iruka had been over ten months ago. They would most certainly pull him from the exam, take away his teaching license, and otherwise tear him away from everything he loved and held dear.

"I can't use lethal force against him…" Kakashi all but whispered as he looked up at the Hokage from between his fingers. "That is a requirement of examiners. I don't know if I could even attack him…"

"Then you will have Iruka lose his chance at becoming a jounin? You should want him to be promoted…you are the one who had always pestered him about taking the exam…if you fail in your duties as an examiner, he will fail and lose his one chance…" Tsunade pointed out softly, wishing there was another way, but she knew that, short of telling the Elders and, consequently, informing the entire village and all village leaders present, about Iruka's abilities and the origin of such power, there was no way they would let Kakashi get out of testing the chuunin teacher. And, were she to tell the Elders her reasoning behind wanting Kakashi far from Iruka, the kind-hearted teacher would become a pariah. He would never be able to teach children again, much less take on missions, or be trusted by the Elders to even hand out missions to others. It would effectively kill Iruka far worse than any injury one of her jounin might inflict during the exams.

"I will fight him…only because it is the only way for him to pass…but this is the last time I will be an examiner. After his test, I will formally request a permanent reassignment…as Suna's diplomat." Kakashi's words were hollow as the jounin stood to leave. Tsunade took a deep breath at the position he put her in. It was not difficult to give him a long-term assignment in an allied village, but it went against every ounce of sense she had. It was not fair that Kakashi was being effectively banished from the village, but at the same time, the Copy Nin had chosen this path for himself – he had not simply chosen it, he desperately wanted it.

"If Gaara agrees to it…then I can only wish you luck in your new post," Tsunade replied emotionlessly as she watched Kakashi leave without another word in a puff of smoke. She finally let out the soft sob she had been holding in from the moment she told Kakashi who he was assigned to – seeing his moment of amazement, which turned to fear, then quickly became denial. It was too much for Tsunade to handle. Stifling another sob, she could only pray that Iruka was as strong as she had told Mizutamari Mari he was. If not, she might very well have just sent one of her favorite jounin to his death.

--

Iruka took a deep, steadying breath as he leaned against the wall of the warm-up room. He had never been one to be overcome by nerves, but he was astonishingly anxious. The past month had been so filled with training his teammates that Iruka had had little chance to even think about his own exam. He had run them into the ground, challenging them relentlessly, until they were all confident they would pass – which each did when it came to be his turn. He was not surprised by the fact each of them passed. Those boys were most certainly worthy of their new status as the three youngest jounin in Konoha. Now, Iruka's ears rung with the cheering over the final test of the exam…his. Neji had been the second to last to test, and had actually done the near-impossible and bested one of the jounin. Then again, Ebisu had underestimated how much Neji had improved in the past few months of the jounin exams.

Smirking as he recalled how Gaara had all but flown to the testing grounds after the match was declared over, Iruka knew that Hiashi must certainly be still passed out somewhere at the surprise of witnessing the seemingly unfeeling Kazekage, in a very physical display of passion, announce his and the Hyuuga's budding relationship to the entire world. At the end of the exam, Neji was far from well-off having broken six ribs, his left leg, and cracked more bones than one would like to count. He had a punctured lung, a minor concussion, and was mere moments away from blacking out from blood loss, but that did not stop him from sweeping Gaara up into his arms, and kissing the small Kazekage with every bit of energy he could muster. And then Neji promptly passed out in front of the cheering crowd.

When he had woken up after hours of frantic healing, on Iruka and a number of medic nin's parts, all Neji cared about was the redhead who had refused to let go of his hand the entire time. Iruka felt a smile come to his face as he remembered that he, Shikamaru, and Lee had agreed to give the two teens some time alone, as soon as they were sure Neji would be alright, but that did not stop Shikamaru from commenting that Gaara should take it easy on Neji - adding something about wanting to have his sparring partner back in a few days – before they left the room.

Iruka had never thought the Kazekage was capable of such a vibrant shade of red and it had turned even more impressive when Lee started spouting something about using protection despite their youthfulness. It was at that point Iruka saw it necessary to drag the boy out of the room before he could continue his speech on safe-sex to two mortified teens and a Nara who looked like he was going to choke if he had to hold back his laughter any longer.

"Iruka?" The teacher glanced up when he heard his name being called. He couldn't help but smile when he saw Anko peer around the open door, her face breaking out into a wide grin when she saw him. Iruka pushed himself off of the wall in just enough time to catch her up in his arms, their six months together rushing back to him as he wrapped his arms tightly around her small frame, and resting lightly his chin atop her head.

"You aren't supposed to be here," he pointed out softly as he felt her let out a soft sigh, nuzzling into his vest. It was strange; he didn't have any romantic feelings towards Anko, nor did she have any towards him, but their embrace was familiar and comfortable. Since he got back from his mission last month, he had seen her a few times, having had dinner with her and Ibiki on occasion when the torture expert was not working a late night. In those events, he had seen a new side to both jounin. Never before would he have believed such powerful shinobi to be so dependent on one another. It was not out of weakness, but oddly, a strong bond between the two that made them so necessary to each other.

"I wanted to tell you…to be careful. I'm sure you'll pass…but I don't want you taking any risks," she whispered into his jacket, her tone a mixture of concern and sternness. "You aren't allowed to get a scratch on you, or else I'll have to deal with those little demons of yours for even longer!"

Chuckling, Iruka held the woman at an arm's length as he studied her. "Don't worry about me, Anko. I'll be fine…and I'll take my classes back as soon as I finish with my exam." Iruka smiled at the thought of returning to his old life – to his beloved students – but a part of him rebelled against such thoughts. The past five months had taught him something about himself that he never thought he would admit – he enjoyed the danger of missions, the uncertainty, the caution, the chance to use his well-practiced abilities. If nothing else, he wouldn't mind taking on a mission every now and again after the exam was over.

"You better…after dealing with Konohamaru, I'm rethinking settling down any time soon…but then again…I don't think I get a choice anymore…" At those words, Iruka stared at the smile on her face and the slight flush to her cheeks. He felt his mouth dropping open as he realized the implication of her words. His gaze traveled to the hand being waved in front of his face, and his eyes caught the glint of an impressively-sized stone.

"When did this happen!?"

"This morning…Ibiki surprised me with a breakfast in bed…" Anko replied with a smile that told Iruka she had come to terms with her fears that she was not good enough for Ibiki.

Iruka could only gently touch her cheek that, in response, warmed under his soft touch. He could only laugh outright as he watched her fingers curl around his, her new ring proudly displayed. "You'll be the most beautiful bride…" he all but whispered, as he gingerly brushed his lips against her forehead as he used to when they pretended to be lovers. He looked back to Anko's face and saw the laughter she barely contained by biting her lower lip. He repeated himself, much louder this time and let out a whoop as he picked up the kunoichi in his arms and spun her around.

Anko let out a laugh at his antics, recalling their months together. Those six months had been much like this, with Iruka's almost childish energy and exuberance. She had first been surprised at this youthful side of the teacher, but looking at him now, she could see him for the twenty-one year old man he was. Ignoring the momentary pang of fear that had repetitively ran through her after she discovered who Iruka was being tested by, Anko sent up a small prayer that nothing would happen to her best friend in his test.

--

Kakashi leaned against the wall, wishing he had had better timing. He had been walking past the practice room at just the right time to glance in and see him embracing Anko, kissing her forehead with a gentleness characteristic of the teacher. His unwilling ears picked up syllables that had made Kakashi's chest feel like a powerful, invisible force was crushing him. Even before he registered the words, Kakashi bolted and was able to reach the other side of the arena before the meaning of Iruka's words fully hit him.

_Beautiful bride… _Kakashi repeated those two words he had caught to himself, trying to forget the image of the large stone on Anko's finger. It was a beautiful piece of craftsmanship and, from the way it fit her to perfection, it was obvious a great deal of time was taken to pick out the seemingly harmless piece of jewelry.

Taking a shaky breath that sounded more like a sob, Kakashi had to ignore the emotions racing through him as he realized the implications of that silver ring. His words meant marriage – they meant a family that Iruka would most certainly have wanted. The jounin covered up his visible eye with trembling fingers, as he tried to ignore the sheer array of emotions running through him. A part of him wanted to be happy for Iruka – the teacher would most certainly be an amazing husband and father – but at the same time, Kakashi could not help but hate the woman Iruka loved for taking away his chances of winning the brunet back.

Hardening his emotions under a well-developed mask of indifference created by years as a shinobi, Kakashi erased all physical indications of the ache in his heart, but he could not rid himself of feeling like there was little left for him other than going back to Suna to live out the rest of his lonely life.

Kakashi almost laughed at the depressing future he had to look forward to. Adjusting the material across his face, the jounin felt comfortable enough to push off of the wall and start meandering towards the center of the arena. Feeling the weight on his back, Kakashi was strangely comforted by the presence of his swords. It had been some time since he had donned any part of his old ANBU uniform, but he had instinctively picked out his katana. As he stepped out into the light, a part of him wished he had the sense to wear the rest of his uniform – especially the carefully sculpted mask to hide whatever emotions slipped past his façade when he was forced to fight Iruka.

He had forgone the added precaution of his old mask covering the lower half of his face, feeling claustrophobic enough with just the loose-fitting material covering his features. Though he had worn the pale scarf for months since returning to Konoha, a part of him despised the feel of the cloth against his skin, but this was the first time he felt almost desperate enough to tear it off and to say to hell with anyone who saw him.

Breathing in deeply, Kakashi stepped out into the open arena, his eyes surveying the crowd through a narrowed gaze. He had nothing covering his Sharingan at the moment, so he could see the sheer amount of energy in the packed stadium. Most of the chakra was the protective force field that separated the testers from the audience, but there was also a great deal of energy emanating from village leaders, and the heads of several prestigious clans. Studying the large shield protecting the spectators, Kakashi could see that it was still being worked on, leaving a few weak spots where Iruka, he and the other examiners would be able to enter the ring. Upon entering, those holes would be sealed up, making it impossible for anything or anyone to enter or escape, until the shield was torn back down at the end of the exam.

Finally looking to the center of the arena, Kakashi smirked, seeing that it had been, yet again, reformed. Randomly, Tsunade had the scenery altered so that the testers had no idea what kind of terrain they would be fighting on. For whatever reason, she had picked a forest with a small pool or two of water. Some of the trees had been cleared, allowing for openings in which the spectators might catch a glimpse of the fighting, but Kakashi knew that their chances of seeing anything was dismal. Any good shinobi would keep to the trees and use long-range attacks on someone whose abilities they were unsure of. Kakashi knew that would have to be his strategy as well, not because he didn't know what kind of things Iruka was capable of, but for the reason he _did_ know that the chuunin was not the average shinboi.

Flitting up to the largest of the boxes, Kakashi crouched down on the small railing and waited for the Hokage to acknowledge him. If for no other reason, Kakashi had to show her respect because of the other kages present. Showing his usual disregard for her station would certainly irk some of the more bristly of the village leaders and probably result in tensions between their villages.

"Ah, so you've made it," Tsunade finally said as she turned from a whispering discussion with the Kazekage. Gaara simply nodded his head in greetings to Kakashi. Kakashi knew better than to feel slighted – right now, he was a Konoha shinobi and not the boy's confidant, but it still slightly hurt at how easily Gaara was able to adopt that politically required distance between them.

"Hai, Hokage-sama," Kakashi replied softly, amazed that he could keep his tone so neutral, despite the war of emotion raging in him. Glancing over to the redhead next to her, his kage hat slightly askew as Gaara found his cheek being gently kissed by the Hyuuga at his side, Kakashi felt a surge of happiness for the boy. It was about time Gaara found someone to show him what it meant to be loved by someone for no other reason than for the sake of love itself. Surveying the rest of the box, Kakashi saw the eight newly promoted jounin, and several kages he recognized, along with a number of Elders he had met on occasion.

"This is the last examination and we have yet to have an accidental death…let us keep that record this year," Tsunade said to no one in particular. Kakashi looked away from the rest of the box's occupants, seeing two other jounin nodding their heads at her comment. He did not have to nod; there was no way he would be able to cause any fatal injuries to the teacher, so such an agreement was unwarranted in his mind. Instead, he bowed his head in acknowledgement before moving to stand up on the balcony's worn railing. His movements were quickly followed by the two other examiners and, for a moment, Kakashi felt a wave of anticipation run through him, despite his misgivings.

Hearing the roar of the crowd, Kakashi found his gaze traveling down to the small entrance at the side of the arena, where he caught a glimpse of a tanned brunet smiling, waving nervously at the people calling out his name. Kakashi knew he shouldn't be surprised at how many people in the audience knew the man, but he could not help but raise an eyebrow when he placed many of those voices as distinctively pre-pubescent. Feeling as though Naruto had something to do with that particular oddity, Kakashi could only shake his head at his student's antics.

"Our final tester will be Umino Iruka. Assigned to him are Shiranui Genma, Yamashiro Aoba, and Hatake Kakashi!" Tsunade announced, her voice amplified by a jutsu that, in Kakashi's mind, she had not needed with her booming voice in the first place. His ears still ringing slightly, Kakashi shifted his hitai-ate back over his implanted eye, and looked back down at Iruka. For whatever reason, the academy teacher seemed very calm for someone who was about to go against three elite jounin. Glancing back to his fellow examiners, Kakashi nodded before jumping off the balcony and quickly thinking up a strategy that might give him some time to stop the painful ache in his heart before he was forced to face Iruka for the first time in nearly a year.

--

Authoress: Kukuku…how about that for a fast-paced, plot turning chapter! //squeals// Anyways…awesomeness…I can't wait for next chapter…which will be coming soon (since it was written as the second half to this chapter...but my betas and I did not want to make everyone cry with the sheer length of it...and we had more work to do on that...so much to discuss and describe!). And I want to give a huge thanks to B.Z.-chan and Alystarryn-chan for betaing this chapter and the next one...and otherwise dealing with my ranting and raving...I don't know how they put up with me sometimes...//smiles sheepishly// So, anyways, keep your eyes peeled for the next chapter, which should be done in the next few days...and please review!! So, until next time, ja ne!


	7. Dark Reunion Part II

Authoress: and here's part two!! I'd like to give a huge thanks to Alystarryn-chan and BZ-chan for beta-ing this chapter…and a huge glomp to BZ-chan for dealing with all my late-night craziness! Also, I want to thank Teito13 for being the 100th reviewer to Scars Fade! As a reward, she gets to read this and future chapters before they are put up on FFN! And, if her response to this chapter was any indication, I think I might be getting some angry reviews filled with sniffling and demands to write the next chapter immediately (hint, hint)!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…it'd be wonderful if I did…

**Chapter Six**

Iruka watched as three figures became a blur as they raced into the arena. He had met Genma and Aoba on any number of occasions, so he was not worried that he would be unable to prove himself to them. Hatake Kakashi, on the other hand, was another matter entirely. As he quickly surveyed his new surroundings, Iruka could not quell the strange surge of unease at the thought of confronting the infamous Copy Nin himself.

Trying his best to ignore the slight shaking of his fingers, Iruka pushed off the soft ground and raced towards the tree line. Having trained with his teammates in very similar surroundings, he knew exactly how helpful the foliage was in hiding his presence. He had become so adept at using his unique abilities to slip into the trees themselves that not even Neji could sense him when he moved from tree to tree, circling the genius and getting closer with each step. After finally reaching the teen, gently placing a blade at Neji's neck to show that he had won their contest in stealth, Neji had admitted that, though he could not pinpoint Iruka's position – that he could not even sense his energy in the slightest, even when Iruka stood mere inches away – he had felt a wave of apprehension. He had somehow instinctively known that he was being surrounded and was helpless to do anything about it; Neji had actually described it as feeling as though he was like some predator's next meal.

Letting out a slow, relaxing breath, Iruka placed a hand on the rough bark of the nearest tree, immediately sensing the glimmer of life. A part of him had been afraid that the entire arena was just an illusion and that he would not be able to use his unique jutsu, but the real tree told him that a great deal of energy and even more meticulous planning was done to create a real, miniature forest in the arena in a matter of days.

Bringing two fingers up to the front of his face, the chuunin focused on the gentle throb of energy deeply hidden underneath abrasive bark. Clinging to that life force, he felt his body changing, becoming more fluid than was humanly possible. The first time he accomplished this particular jutsu was purely on accident; when he leaned against a tree during his second exam, exhausted to the point of deliriousness, he had sensed that same ancient energy. Curious, he had reached out to the green energy, so unlike his own that he was immediately fascinated. The next thing he knew, his team was frantically searching for him, though Iruka could only wonder why they could not see him when he was right in front of them. When he finally passed out from chakra-depletion, they had discovered him. Apparently, as Shikamaru told him later, he just seemed to fall _out_ of the tree itself, his body reforming from the bark as he collapsed to the ground.

Having worked on the ability a bit since then, Iruka surmised that, because of his affinity with water, he was able to, in so many words, melt into the tree somehow, in some form, exist in the delicate, yet highly structured network of tubes that transported water throughout the ancient foliage. Now, having perfected the strange jutsu, he was quite comfortable to observe from within the tree, somehow able to look all around him, as though he was the tree itself. At first, his perspective on the world around him was disconcerting, but he had since grown accustomed to being able to switch his viewpoint by traveling up and down the trunk, along branches, and even into leaves themselves with no more than a thought.

Within minutes, his jutsu paid off, as he not only saw but felt Aoba land on one of his branches. Studying the jounin for a moment, Iruka wondered what the best way of announcing his presence would be. The jounin glanced around, or at least he turned his head. Iruka could not be sure where he was looking because of the darkened goggles he wore.

Taking a deep breath, Iruka moved up to the branch the man was crouching on and followed the direction of his gaze. Curious, Iruka watched as a crow came to land on the man's shoulder and squawk into his ear. Strangely, the man nodded his head and then dismissed the bird with a wave of his hand.

"An interesting jutsu," he said softly as he moved to stand. Iruka cursed, realizing his mistake in not surveying the area for any life forms before performing his jutsu – he should have known better than to brush off animal-life, as another part of Tsunade's highly detailed testing arena.

Knowing he had been discovered, though Aoba was obviously still unsure how exactly how to get him _out_ of the tree, Iruka recombined his body, slipping backwards out of the tree onto the ground. Looking up at the elite jounin's back, Iruka wondered how long it would take the man to sense him.

Iruka had miscalculated the skill of a man of Aoba's status as he watched the jounin disappear before his very eyes in a whirlwind of black, which Iruka almost immediately recognized as a flock of crows. Closing his eyes, he sent out a network of chakra, quickly locating his attacker as the older shinobi rushed him head-on.

Opening his eyes, Iruka saw the quick hand movements that, without a single thought, had the brunet teacher moving out of the man's line of attack. Though he had moved with an impressive speed, he could still feel warmth against his face as he flew to the side. Watching as a gigantic fireball flew by the exact spot he had been positioned in a fraction of a second ago, Iruka felt a twinge of fear.

He had not seriously considered the fact his jounin examiners were supposed to aim to heavily injure, if not kill, but Aoba was going all out, perhaps because they had met countless times in the Missions Office, or maybe because he did not consider Iruka worthy. For whatever reason, Iruka could smell the acrid aroma of burning hair and material as the fireball caught the tip of his ponytail and the back of his jacket on fire. Quickly moving, he stripped off the useless article of clothing, having had the foresight to put his weapons close on his person instead of neatly arranged in his pockets. He did not worry about his hair; his movements were so quick, they blew out the embers where hair had once stood.

"Not bad, Iruka-sensei," Aoba commented dryly as he put his hands down to his sides, no longer using them to form seals. Iruka was about to thank the man for the compliment, but all thoughts of showing his gratitude disappeared, when he heard the distinctive chink of metal against metal.

Narrowing his gaze, Iruka tried to locate the origin of the sound, knowing it had not come from the elite jounin. _Up…_Iruka had just enough time to think before instinctively jumping backwards. His hands flying in unconscious seals, Iruka felt a protective shield of water form around him just as a cloud of black, streaked with silver, descended upon him.

Strengthening the water surrounding him until it was as impervious as diamonds, lacing it with a mixture of human and demonic chakra, Iruka watched in a mixture of fear and rapture as the flock of crows surrounded him, whirling around him so quickly, it was almost impossible to see them clearly. Iruka was only able to catch a few glimpses that told him the source of the sound that had warned him. In each of their dark beaks was a sharpened kunai.

The chuunin's eyes widened; he could imagine how he would have been torn to shreds had he not put up his protective jutsu in just the nick of time. Aoba meant business. Iruka took a steadying breath as he sent a small ball of energy into the shield around him, watching as it rippled outwards in a beautiful display of waves. Feeding even more energy into the unique shield, Iruka took a quick glance to Aoba and could see the jounin raising an eyebrow at the strange jutsu he was witness to.

Recalling how most jounin disliked water-based jutsu, Iruka could only wonder what Aoba was thinking as he witnessed the ball start to grow, its once peaceful surface rippling and becoming miniature tidal waves that lashed out at the whirlwind of black birds surrounding him. Almost as though the water itself was affected by the vortex the crows created, it twisted around Iruka, tightening around his form, but stretching even farther out to knock some of the birds out of the sky.

Iruka could not imagine what Aoba now thought of him as the chuunin took a step forwards, his jutsu following him and growing closer to his body by the second. As the water finally came to settle around his body in a strange second-skin, Iruka released his intense concentration on the protective jutsu. Now a part of him, it would work on its own accord to shield him from damage. The water thinned out across his black clothing, seeping into the material until nothing more than a slight wetness revealed that the water was even there.

Aoba straightened up as Iruka started to slowly walk towards him, his face revealing his curiosity. Though the flock of crows still circled Iruka, they now knew to keep their distance from him, having seen several of their own felled by his jutsu.

Seeing his crows' unease, the jounin dismissed them as he smirked, knowing how few people had ever been able to make his summoned creatures so disconcerted, they would ignore his command to attack. The only people he could recall ever having such an effect were those whose abilities rivaled or went far beyond his own. This was the first time, however, that his crows had failed to inflict even a scratch on his opponent.

"Impressive," the jounin stated as he slipped a hand into the pouch at his side, pulling out two shuriken. Slipping them between his fingers, the shinobi took a step towards Iruka, gauging the speed he would require to overtake the young man and end this silly dream of Iruka passing the exam. It was not that he disliked the man – actually, far from it. He wanted to protect Iruka from being forced to see the kinds of things jounin encountered every day. The brunet was an excellent teacher – a treasured member of their village – and Aoba wanted to save Iruka from the pain he would feel if he passed the exam.

Iruka furrowed his eyebrows, reading the jounin's body language as easily as if Aoba had stated his intentions aloud. Realizing that he would have to be more than simply impressive to the elite jounin, in order for Aoba to pass him, Iruka tightened his hands into fists and let chakra begin to pool in his palms. Glad for the covering of foliage from the curious eyes of the audience, Iruka let a bead of pure demonic energy mix into his otherwise blue chakra, darkening it both in color and feeling.

Seeing the change in the examiner's stance, Iruka realized the man had noticed the difference, and his hesitancy to attack told the chuunin that he had sufficiently proven to the man he was a force to be reckoned with. Smiling, Iruka stepped forwards and opened one hand to reveal the result of his careful sculpting of his chakra. A small shuriken sat in the palm of his hand, perfectly formed to resemble the ones Aoba held in his hands.

Iruka did not have to see underneath his goggles to know that Aoba's eyes had widened as he studied the seemingly harmless shuriken. Biting back the chuckle he felt bubbling up in the back of his throat, the chuunin wondered if Mizutamari Mari would be proud of his twist on their lessons on how to form water into weapons. Using water as a medium was far easier than sculpting pure energy, but Iruka knew he could not hold back his abilities if he wanted to leave the arena as a jounin.

_What are you, Iruka?_ Aoba had to ask himself as he studied the small shuriken in the man's outstretched hand. The only things he had ever seen come close to that weapon were near-impossible jutsu like the Rasengan. But, even then, the Rasengan was large and almost incapable of keeping its shape for a long period of time because of the nature of it. For the chuunin, without breaking a sweat, to hold that small, delicate shape was mind-boggling.

Aoba, despite his earlier decision to keep Iruka from passing, had to admit that the chuunin had proven himself with revealing his control over his own chakra. Instead of immediately telling the man he would make a great jounin, Aoba took a step towards the man, wanting to know how far Iruka's control went. Was the kind teacher capable of performing an attack with the impressive shuriken he held, or was it all for show? Taking a deep breath, Aoba ignored his instincts screaming for him to get far away from the academy teacher and, instead, raced towards him. The shuriken between his fingers dug into his skin with their dull edges as he tightened his hands. When he was mere feet away from the teacher, he abruptly changed directions, racing to the man's side before he lunged at him, raising his shuriken-studded fist in a powerful punch.

Before Aoba had a chance to register what happened, he found himself on the ground, his entire body trembling uncontrollably. Gasping for breath, Aoba found himself unable to fill his lungs without excruciating pain. For a moment, the jounin panicked as he looked upwards, but was unable to see anything except complete darkness. After a few moments of frantic blinking, he found his vision returning to him, hazy at first, but slowly clearing to show the face of the kind teacher looking over him.

"What the hell was that?" Aoba groaned, as he regained the ability to move his mouth. If he had to describe the ache in his body, he would have sworn he had just been run over by something, and it had, for reasons unknown to him, backed up and crushed him several times over for good measure. His bones screamed in agony and, having had his fair share of injuries in the past, Aoba understood that many of those pains were due to fractures.

Iruka rested a glowing hand on the jounin's chest, letting healing energy seep into the man's body and, with care he had honed over the years, slowly went to work repairing the worst of the man's injuries. Though he had been the reason for the array of aches and pains, Iruka knew he could not heal every wound unless he wanted to deplete his energy before even fighting his second examiner.

"A jutsu - a protective jutsu I put around myself. You really shouldn't have tried to punch me," Iruka replied as he sat back on his heels, studying Aoba's crushed right hand with furrowed eyebrows. It was not simply that the man's hand had been shattered to the point only someone of Tsunade's medical skill could save it, but also that the shuriken he had been holding had punctured through his palm, going straight through bone and tendon. That would not have been so strange in itself, but what made Iruka hesitantly reach out to touch the extremity, was the way the metal had lost its form, melting until it encased the back of the jounin's hand in a sick mockery of a plated glove.

Aoba let out a hiss of pain, as Iruka lifted his hand to better study the wound. Letting his gaze travel to his hand, the jounin cursed as his eyes widened. Never before had he seen such an injury. Whatever Iruka's protective jutsu entailed, it was most certainly effective in keeping him from harm.

"I am not prone to attacking fellow jounin. I wanted to see if you could control that chakra-shuriken of yours," Aoba commented, smirking despite the pain racing through his body. Iruka's mouth dropped open as the teacher slowly realized what the man's statement meant. "And I didn't even get the chance to see it..."

"If you had asked, I would have told you 'somewhat.' I cannot throw it yet, but it is as destructive as the Chidori and Rasengan if I was to make contact," Iruka replied in a soft tone, almost reproving Aoba for his actions as he shook his head. "You could have been killed if I hadn't had the sense to get rid of the shuriken before you even attacked."

"Then I'm indebted to you, Iruka," Aoba stated with a cough, his chest wracked with pain from his sudden movement. Iruka sighed as he carefully propped the jounin up, pushing something behind the elite jounin's back that kept him sitting up. From the feel of the soft cushion, Aoba guessed it to be Iruka's jacket that he had taken off at the beginning of their fight. "Now, you better go show Genma and Kakashi up. And I suggest not reusing anything I've seen – they are bound to have been watching our fight, and gauging your abilities."

"I was planning on that. I just wanted to make sure you weren't going to die on me," Iruka replied, smiling at the elite jounin. The seriousness of his tone made Aoba realize that his injures were far more serious than he had first surmised. For the teacher to admit he had been worried of that happening, Aoba knew he had been knocking at death's door for a moment, and probably would have died, had Iruka not rushed to begin healing him. Smirking, the elite jounin knew that, if it had been anyone else, they would not have wasted precious energy to save his life. It was his own fault he was so badly injured; he had underestimated Iruka and had forgotten about that slight sheen to the teacher's wet skin that had frightened his crows.

Though protective jutsu were not uncommon, Aoba had been unable to sense it once it took the form of Iruka's body, melding into his very skin, so he had brushed it off as, not a form of protection, but a strange jutsu that he had never seen nor heard of before.

"Good luck, Iruka," Aoba stated calmly as he shifted his head to watch the brunet slowly stand up, his features unreadable, though Aoba had the sinking sense Iruka would have a far more difficult time with Genma and Kakashi. If for no other reason, Genma would want to know the full extent of Iruka's abilities before passing him…and Kakashi…Aoba closed his eyes, not wanting to know what Kakashi would do when he felt that strange dark energy that had pulled the elite jounin in towards Iruka without caution, attacking and nearly losing his life because he was curious what kind of energy it had been that he sensed.

Opening his eyes again, Aoba lost the ability to breathe as he took in the teacher's form. Kneeling at his side, Iruka had looked much the same, but as he stood to leave, Aoba caught glimpses of features that were anything but human. There were three deep slits in the man's powerful neck that did not bleed. If anything, they looked like they were meant to be there and were not the result of injury. Shifting his gaze over the rest of the brunet, he saw long fingers that ended in impossibly sharp nails. The rest of Iruka's features, too, did not settle well with the elite jounin. His skin and hair had changed colors so subtly that, had he not been studying Iruka mere minutes ago, he wouldn't have even noticed them. The man's facial features, too, had changed ever so slightly – lengthening, narrowing, and sharpening – to give him an almost inhuman look. As he watched Iruka walk away, Aoba found himself asking, for the second time: _what are you, Iruka?_

--

Genma raised an eyebrow as he felt a distinctive change in the air around him. Almost as soon as he had made sure Aoba would survive his injuries, he had returned to the middle of the forest where he had already set up a massive trap. Thankful that he had the sense to over-do his ambush, the jounin looked up at the sky as he recalled how, in the blink of an eye, Aoba had been thrown to the ground by an almost invisible force with such strength that, for a moment, the jounin had been tempted to go check for life. It was amazing Aoba had survived such injuries – then again, he knew Iruka's quick healing had a great deal to do with it. Had he not seen it with his own eyes, he would have doubted Iruka was capable of inflicting such damage, much less to react so quickly as to pull the elite jounin from the brink of death.

Chewing on his senbon thoughtfully, Genma could not help but wonder where Iruka had gained such amazing abilities and such destructive power. He had seen _something_ come off of the chuunin, rippling in the air and surrounding an unsuspecting Aoba and then, before Genma had realized that his friend was in danger, Aoba was at the bottom of a crater that his own body had formed. Anyone being thrown with that much force should have been liquefied, by all laws of physics, but Iruka somehow saved his friend from death. Perhaps it was that Iruka somehow held himself back, or maybe it was just his quick reaction, his hands beginning the healing jutsu even before Aoba hit the ground.

Hearing a crunch of gravel beneath feet, Genma shook his head, knowing he could not be distracted, having seen Iruka fight an elite jounin and win. It would be unforgivable – and almost unheard of – if Iruka bested him as well. Turning to look into the densely wooded area he had chosen to lay in wait, Genma found an eyebrow raising, his senbon freezing in his mouth, as he watched Iruka gingerly walking across the ground, his feet somehow not detonating the small warehouse-worth of explosives.

"Genma-san," Iruka greeted with a wave, his tone grating on the jounin's nerves. He did not seem to care that he was walking across a literal minefield without a single misstep. Genma felt his eye twitch, recalling the small fortune he had dished out when preparing for the final exam. He and Aoba had disagreed in Iruka's worthiness of passing. Unlike his best friend, Genma was willing to judge Iruka on the abilities he showed, hence the trap that Iruka was walking straight through. Had he been a normal shinobi, he should have set off at least one bomb by now, no matter how careful he had been. Genma had created a network of tripwires that were impossible to avoid.

With a frown, the jounin suppressed the urge to wipe the smile off of the chuunin's face. It wasn't just that Iruka was able to step perfectly, but that he was somehow able to avoid the invisible strands above ground that created a deadly web extending throughout the entire area. It was physically impossible to miss every wire, but the chuunin was somehow able to accomplish the unthinkable.

Watching him for a moment, Genma nearly dropped his senbon when he saw exactly how Iruka was dodging the clear wires. As the chuunin walked closer to him, Genma could see how his body seemed to ripple with each movement. If he had to describe what he was seeing, he would have sworn that Iruka was not flesh and blood, but something far from a solid being, perhaps a liquid, if he had to put a word to it. His body did not trip the wires because, against all logic, Iruka was walking straight _through_ them.

Those fluid movements did not stop Iruka from walking slowly, as though he still was in some kind of danger. Genma quickly realized why; no matter how liquid-like his body was, he still had weight, which meant he could still set off the explosives below his feet that just needed some pressure on them. Smirking, the jounin waited until Iruka made his way through the forest of mines and came to stand still at the edge of the tripwires.

"I put a lot of effort into that," Genma stated with a grumble, as he watched the chuunin take a step away from the invisible wires, somehow knowing that this small area was the only safe place in this section of the forest. Iruka chuckled at his words before bowing in a quick apology. "I saw what you did for Aoba…actions speak louder than words, Iruka-sensei."

"Even if I had used up all of my chakra saving his life, I still would have," Iruka responded, understanding that Genma deeply respected him for healing Aoba, instead of letting him die like so many other shinobi would have done. "I didn't think that he would have attacked so quickly. It was pure instinct."

"I do not blame you…and your attack was not entirely pointless. Now I know to keep my distance from you, but after all of this is over, you're going to have to tell me how you dodged all those tripwires," Genma said, before sucking on his senbon for a moment. Without warning, he spit the sharp object out of his mouth and smirked as he watched the chuunin easily dodge the pointed stick hurtling towards him. Almost as soon as Iruka shifted to get out of the senbon's path, his eyes widened and the teacher realized his mistake. Genma quickly took cover as his senbon landed in the minefield, its weight pressing directly down on one of his larger, but extremely sensitive, explosives.

Iruka cursed as he took several quick steps to distance himself from Genma's trap, wishing he'd had the sense to recall the man was rumored to have been able to deflect kunai by simply spitting a senbon. Knowing that this was the man's plan all along, the brunet quickly found himself performing several jutsu as he got as far away as he could. The pounding of his heart seemed to slow, as did the world around him, as Iruka turned back for a moment when he heard an audible click coming from the minefield.

Dropping to the ground as he felt his body lose its form, seeping into the gravel and dirt as quickly as he could, Iruka not only heard, but felt, the bomb go off. The ground shook as though it was an earthquake and, for a moment, Iruka swore he could hear cries from the surrounding arena. Focusing his gaze on the minefield once the dry heat dissipated overhead, Iruka quickly understood their dismay. The entire forest that he had just walked through was gone, replaced by deep depressions that revealed that explosion would have killed anyone who had not gotten out of its way.

Iruka quickly pulled himself back out of the ground, his head reeling from the speed he was recombining his body with. Momentarily lurching as he prayed his world would right itself quickly, Iruka sensed movement. Instinctively arching his body forwards, using one hand firmly placed on the ground to keep his balance as his body kept sending him signals the ground was wobbling, Iruka heard the whisper of metal cutting through air a mere hairsbreadth above his curved back.

Before he consciously thought of any plan other than saving his life, Iruka twisted his body, planting both of his hands on the ground as he kicked his legs up, flipping over and connecting with something solid. Hearing the crack echo throughout the now decimated forest, Iruka momentarily wondered if he had broken something, or if it had been a bone of Genma's that made the sickening sound.

Pushing himself back up to a standing position, Iruka spun around and found himself staring at a log with a raised eyebrow. _Kawarmi no jutsu_ he thought as he felt the hair rising on the back of his neck and, without so much as a warning, the chuunin dropped back to the ground; this time, there was no sound accompanying the blade speeding above him. The only warning he got was the instinct that something or someone was behind him.

Twisting his body as he rolled several times to escape powerful attacks that shook the ground, Iruka finally found himself able to leap back up only to be hit squarely in the chest by a rock-solid fist. Flying back several feet, Iruka dug his feet into the ground to stop himself before he landed back in the minefield. Still sliding backwards, Iruka threw himself forwards, thrusting his fingers into the gravel, in an attempt to slow himself down faster.

Ignoring the screams of protest from his sensitive fingers, Iruka bit back the cry that came to the back of his throat. Instead, he gritted his teeth and dug his fingers even deeper into the ground until he left claw marks in the dirt that were stained a morbid shade of scarlet. Closing his eyes, Iruka willed himself to stop, which he finally did the moment he felt his heels gently touch one of the tripwires. Thankfully, the force was not enough to set off another blast, so Iruka let out a sigh of relief as he cautiously moved forwards, before his good luck could run out and the explosives started going off.

"That was close!" Genma called from a safe distance away from the minefield, his tone joking and, for no real reason, it made Iruka growl softly. Glancing down at his hands, Iruka winced as he looked over the shredded and bloody digits that had saved him from being blown to bits. Iruka studied them for a moment, wondering when Mizutamari Mari's protective jutsu would start taking effect and heal his self-inflicted injuries, but his eyes started to widen when the burning healing never began.

It had been so long since he had to actually deal with the pain of injuries because of something he had done that Iruka could only stare at his hands in a sick fascination. Pushing away any questions about his lack of instantaneous healing, Iruka looked up to the examiner chewing on a new senbon, looking at him appreciatively.

Knowing now was not the time to wonder about his lack of demonic healing, Iruka tightened his bloodied hands into tight fists, not caring that his hands cried out in pain at even the smallest of movements. Narrowing his gaze, the brunet felt a surge of dark hatred towards the elite jounin now smirking at him.

Grinding his teeth together, Iruka could feel the sharpened tips of his once flattened molars. Unable to help himself, Iruka mirrored the jounin's smirk and felt a wave of satisfaction at the man's widening eyes, filled with a mixture of unease and fear. The realization that Genma was now wary in his presence was a delicious one, Iruka had to admit, as he watched the man sidestep, no longer taking his eyes off of Iruka's form.

"What are you, Iruka?" Genma made the mistake of asking, as he focused on Iruka's altered features. No longer did the man resemble the gentle academy teacher he knew him to be. No, now Iruka looked positively demonic with the cold, calculating look he was giving Genma. Not only was it the darkness of his eyes, but his sharpened teeth and, as Genma watched the chuunin, he heard a soft hissing sound come from the man's torn hands. For a moment, taking his gaze off of Iruka's face, he looked down and saw that, where once were mangled digits, now were long fingers that, though still coated in a thin layer of blood, were obviously whole and uninjured.

"Do you really want to know the answer?" Iruka asked quietly, his voice no longer resembling his once gentle tone. No, now Genma could hear a tinge of disgust, mixed with quite a bit of sarcasm. Knowing this was not the normal Iruka, he could only cautiously study the man, waiting for him to make the first move.

Genma reached into his pouch, picking out a handful of delicately etched senbon, knowing that he could not underestimate Iruka like Aoba did. He had the feeling that he would not get the same healing treatment, now that he was on Iruka's bad side. Pulling out the small weapons from his pouch, Genma quickly ran through several scenarios, none of which were very hopeful for Iruka's future. Having seen what Iruka was capable of – and now looking into those unfeeling eyes – Genma no longer held himself to his promise as an examiner. Now, he was an elite shinobi protecting his village from a powerful threat to their safety. He did not really want to admit it, but he had to ignore his long-held impression of Iruka as a kind person and now look at him as an enemy. No Konoha shinobi could have such an evil gaze without having some traitorous ideas.

"I'm not a danger to the village…" Iruka said, his voice deepening from what it once sounded like. Had he not been looking at Iruka as he spoke, Genma would have never placed that rumbling sound as the teacher's voice. It was not only the deepness, but the lack of feeling, that put Genma on edge. Tightening his fingers around his senbon, Genma took a step towards the chuunin teacher, wishing that anyone other than him had been picked to test Iruka.

Taking a deep breath, Genma prayed that Kakashi would forgive him for what he was about to do. He knew about his friend's affections and, though he had no idea what had happened between the two men, he had the sinking feeling Kakashi still harbored something for Iruka. God, Kakashi was going to kill him if he missed his target. Running his finger along the almost invisible engravings in the senbon, he found the right end and stuck the small stick in his mouth, running his tongue along the end.

Having learned the hard way that he had to hit the jugular, or else risk killing his target, Genma took a moment to aim with the astonishing accuracy and precision he was famed for. Without a word to the chuunin, he, in one fluid movement, pulled the poisoned senbon from his mouth and threw it.

Genma let out a sigh of relief when his shot rang true, hitting the chuunin in the throbbing vein in his neck. Almost as soon as the small pick pierced his skin, Iruka's hand went up to his throat, clutching the tiny weapon with trembling fingers, and the teacher took a stumbling step backwards.

The elite jounin began to move towards the brunet, trying to mentally calculate how long it would take his poison to knock someone of Iruka's size and abilities, unconscious. The fact that he had not passed out the moment the senbon pricked his skin, surprised Genma. The fact that he had yet to fall to the ground, had given the jounin pause. There was a dose of poison in that senbon large enough to knock someone like Asuma or Kakashi out within a second. For Iruka to still be standing, it was beginning to frighten Genma.

Staring at the chuunin, Genma lost the ability to breathe as the man's dark eyes looked up at him. No longer the soft doe eyes of the teacher, those orbs smoldered a dark color that made the jounin swallow heavily, as he realized his attack had only served to piss off the brunet far more than he had ever thought possible.

Iruka slowly pulled the senbon out of his neck, glancing down at the trickle of blood that slid down the sharply pointed end, creating a droplet that fell to the ground and was quickly soaked into the dry earth. He shook his head, trying to rid himself of the slightly hazy feeling. He understood exactly what Genma had just tried to do, which caused him to tighten his fingers around the thin strip of metal, snapping the weapon in two before it had a chance to bend under the strength of his fingers.

Sucking in a sharp breath of air, Iruka tried to ignore the frighteningly dark wave of anger that ran through him as he threw the senbon to the ground in disgust. Taking several deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself down – much like he did when Konohamaru was being his usual aggravating self – Iruka felt those unusual sensations lessen, his blood no longer boiling in hatred for the jounin who was just doing his job.

Any hopes Iruka had of returning to his usual self were lost when he heard the unmistakable sound of a kunai being pulled from its pouch. As he observed the jounin, he saw Genma reveal a sharp blade at his side. Narrowing his gaze, Iruka followed the kunai as the jounin shifted, taking an offensive stance. Before either of them had the chance to blink, Genma had moved, racing towards Iruka with the 'lethal force' the jounin exams were infamous for. This time, however, that force was not being held back in the slightest in hopes of keeping a tester alive.

Iruka dodged the first stab with ease, contorting his frame, bending backwards, yet still keeping perfect balance. As he felt, more than saw, Genma begin to slice the kunai downwards, he dropped one leg down, his hips rotating, as he kicked outwards, hooking his calf around Genma's knees and dragging the man to the ground in one swift motion. Before the jounin had the chance to get back up, Iruka moved out of stabbing distance. As the older shinobi stood back up, Iruka reached into his tight-fitting uniform for the concealed blade. Pulling out the thin scythe from his shirt, Iruka gripped its shortened handle, glad he had thought to bring it along for his exam. Though he had never used it other than for training with Mizutamari Mari a number of years ago, the dull blade was the perfect thing to focus his energy on.

He could easily create something like a shuriken, but it was useless on someone as fast and as powerful as an elite jounin. This blade, on the other hand, was something Iruka knew he could use to fight. Holding it, gripping its well-worn handle that was stained a dark color from the number of times he had cut himself using it, Iruka recalled his years with Mizutamari Mari fondly. Tightening his long fingers around the wood, careful of the sharpened nails that seemed to grow before his very eyes, Iruka remembered his first lesson with the demon after the deaths of his family.

_No, you stupid human! You are going too easy on your opponent if you are not aiming to kill!_

_But Mizutamari Mari-sensei, I don't want to kill them._

_Then they will kill you, gaki…_

Iruka breathed in through his nose as he closed his eyes, smelling the moisture in the air and tasting the electricity of the energy racing through it. Opening his mouth ever so slightly, the brunet ran his tongue along unnaturally sharp teeth. Though he had grown accustomed to the slight changes in his features from the number of times it occurred during the jounin exams, Iruka still felt a shiver of delicious wickedness, as he acknowledged that those changes turn him into something beyond human.

He never understood Mizutamari Mari when the demon told him with certainty that Iruka would one day come to love the knowledge that he was not just an ordinary, weak human. He was not bound by human limitations, according to the demon, and the day he came to appreciate that fact would be the most glorious day in his life. Opening his eyes as he looked to Genma, seeing the pale blue energy pulsing through the elite jounin, Iruka wished Mizutamari Mari had used another word than 'glorious.' What he felt, as he let his energy begin to seep out of the hand holding the scythe, encircling the otherwise harmless instrument with honed, razor-sharp chakra, was far beyond glorious. It was ecstasy – it was a high unlike anything Iruka could have ever imagined.

Glancing down at the weapon in his hand, Iruka could see the rippling energy as it turned the curved blade into something closer to a katana in length. The edges of the weapon now were white with pure, sharpened energy, while the rest of the blade was a strange color of violet. Never before had he been able to control the demonic chakra well enough to use it as part of his arsenal, but something had given him the strength to do so now. Perhaps it was because Genma had tried to kill him; Iruka was unsure what had pushed him to this level, but he did not care any longer. All he cared about was continuing this soaring feeling.

"Genma…get out of here." Iruka looked up from his blade with a raised eyebrow when he heard a deep voice, deathly serious in its tone. He couldn't help but smirk when he saw the last of his examiners land on the ground before him, crouching down so nothing other than a streak of silver hair was visible other than the billowing folds of his pale Suna uniform.

"Like hell, Kakashi," Genma responded, as he tightened his grip on his kunai, his jounin instincts screaming that he could not leave a friend alone with this creature – whatever this being was that Iruka had turned into. Refusing to take his gaze off of the brunet in front of him, Genma could only tell Kakashi was glaring at him from the shiver that went down his back.

"He is right, Genma. My fight is with Hatake-san," Iruka said softly, his voice returning to the gentle, sweet words of the chuunin so many cared for. The teacher could not explain why, but he knew that there was a reason that, upon sight of that silver hair, he felt a wave of hatred wash over him.

_You were the one I forgot, Hatake Kakashi… _Iruka realized, though he could not understand why he would forget anything about the enigmatic jounin. As the man slowly stood up, Iruka found himself looking into the almost fully-masked face of a man the entire village revered as one of the greatest shinobi of their generation. His customary black mask and Konoha uniform was gone, replaced by a pale scarf and equally light-colored outfit. The sleeves of his unfamiliar uniform were tied up, out of his way, and the loose folds of his shirt bunched up against his torso, where two matching sheathes were crisscrossed, the hilts rising up above his strong shoulders.

Iruka looked back to Genma, who seemed to not care that this was no longer about the jounin exams. Lifting a hand, he hardly had to give more than a thought for his energy to create a small wave, invisible to the naked eye, reaching towards the elite jounin. Taking a calm, deep breath, Iruka used that moisture in the atmosphere to give his otherwise wispy energy form, and increase its size to become an astonishing monstrosity.

Kakashi furrowed his eyebrows, sensing something unusual was going on. It was not only the air around them that seemed to change, but he could see the amusement glittering in Iruka's eyes, as the teacher studied Genma with interest.

"Genma! _Move_!" Kakashi cried, as he pulled up his hitai-ate, clearly seeing the swirling blue energy forming a tsunami-like wave, directed towards the other jounin. Unable to see what Kakashi had, Genma took a moment to look to Kakashi questioningly, but almost immediately realized his mistake, when Iruka's attack tore water from the air, creating a wave that anyone could see.

Feeling the barest of smirks pull at the corner of his mouth, Iruka watched, unfazed, as the wave cascaded towards the elite jounin, throwing Genma back instead of drowning him. Iruka found it more entertaining to watch the man fly through the air than be easily crushed by the weight of the water, so he felt a surge of sweet revenge when Genma was thrown towards the remaining parts of the forest, his body tearing through several trees, before Kakashi's quick form was able to catch up with him, and grab the limp body out of midair.

The distance between him and the two jounin was great enough that Iruka knew a normal human could not watch the jounin, but he could clearly see Kakashi laying his motionless comrade down on the ground, his fingertips lingering on the elite jounin's neck. Feeling a smirk creep up on him, the chuunin nearly laughed when he saw the dirty look Kakashi shot him as the silver-haired man stood back up, his entire body radiating a hatred that, even by demonic standards, was impressive.

Iruka made the mistake of blinking his eyes, losing sight of Kakashi. Raising an eyebrow, the brunet could not help but feel a new rush. He somehow instinctively knew that, if anyone was able to challenge him, it would be the jounin that was now rushing at him so quickly, not even Iruka's enhanced vision could keep up with him.

Of course, Kakashi must have not known that Iruka trained with Gai. Using his remaining senses, Iruka was able to judge the jounin's position from the change in the air, and the sound of his near-soundless feet pushing off the now moistened ground. _There!_ Iruka leapt backwards, feeling a powerful fist brush against his shoulder, but still missing its target. Almost immediately, Iruka found himself twisting to dodge another attack – this time, however, it was a perfectly-executed roundhouse kick.

Unable to contain his laughter, Iruka found himself immensely enjoying this sparring match. With each swish of material, each whistling of air rushing past his body, Iruka felt the tension rising in the jounin. His hatred was almost palatable, as Kakashi's movements came closer – more powerful – with each stroke. Unlike normal people, Kakashi was not tiring as their bout turned into a test of speed and endurance.

Despite his demonically-enhanced senses and reflexes, Iruka found those punches and kicks coming closer and becoming more accurate every passing moment. Though he and Kakashi were both a blur to anyone watching, the jounin was somehow able to pick up speed as they moved in their deadly dance. Realizing that the man's Sharingan was uncovered, Iruka let out a bark of laughter. Kakashi was copying his movements, able to predict where Iruka would move next or perhaps even able to know his movements several seconds in the future. Vastly impressed with the man's abilities, Iruka took a step backwards and did not move when Kakashi's fist came barreling towards his torso. Instead, he easily caught the punch and simply held the tightened knuckles against his palm, his claws digging into skin heavily tanned from time out in the sun.

"Why, Iruka?" Kakashi asked, his voice choked with a number of emotions that the brunet no longer knew the names to, much less was he able to recognize them other than as something he considered weak. "You nearly killed him."

"Oh, I didn't?" Iruka questioned, as he studied the jounin mere inches away from him. Kakashi was panting heavily, his body obviously starting to catch up with his demanding attacks. Raising an eyebrow, Iruka wondered, if he had not killed Genma, why Kakashi was attacking him with such vigor now. "Well, that's two down in either case," he egged the older man on, smirking when he heard the growl erupt from the back of Kakashi's throat.

"And to think I was going to ask for your forgiveness," Kakashi forced out in a sneer, as he looked into eyes that were darker than he remembered. Iruka's features had changed, but they certainly were not the changes a year could accomplish. No, his facial features were almost vulpine in appearance. They were too sharp, too narrow, to be considered human, but there was something also achingly beautiful about him. Kakashi, for a moment, wondered what had happened to make Iruka like this. He was not the kind, compassionate teacher he had forged a friendship with. No, this was the hardened creature he had caught glimpses of when he had finally realized there was something inhuman about Iruka.

"Forgive you?" Iruka asked, masking his curiosity with sarcasm, as he studied the jounin. There was something in Kakashi's eyes that told him the silver-haired man was telling him the truth – there was a reason. The Copy Nin had done something that required him to apologize. Searching his foggy memories, Iruka felt a headache coming on from the exercise, but he found no such event that would require him to forgive Kakashi.

Slowly releasing Kakashi's fist, Iruka stepped backwards, observing the jounin under a new light. Whatever he had forgotten dealt with this man…something he had done. What Iruka now felt driven to discover was exactly _what_ it was that Kakashi had done to him.

"What happened to you, Iruka?" Kakashi questioned softly, as he looked into the chuunin's eyes. As he watched, those dark orbs softened, resembling something much closer to their customary brown shade. The rest of his features, too, changed back to those of the academy teacher, and Kakashi couldn't help but feel a slight moment of relief. Whatever happened to Iruka was not permanent, and Kakashi could not help but be thankful for that small blessing.

"Aren't you going to fight me, Hatake-san?" Iruka asked, as he folded his arms across his chest, his scythe still pulsating with energy, but it was now bluer in color than anything else. Keeping his lips firmly over his teeth, though he still kept his tongue against slightly sharpened points, Iruka had to will himself to use his human chakra. Understandably, his demonic chakra had the jounin on edge and, for reasons Iruka did not fully understand, he wanted the man relaxed enough to explain what had happened between them. If that meant pretending for a few moments, so be it.

"Answer one question for me, Iruka and I will fight you," Kakashi stated, before taking a deep breath. Letting his hands fall to his sides, he contemplated the brunet in front of him. As he looked into those chocolate eyes, he posed his question, "Did you ever care for me?" Just the question itself hurt him to ask it, but Kakashi had to know. He had to find out before Iruka went off and married Anko and had the perfect little family he deserved.

"I feel nothing for you," Iruka said truthfully, though he had to bite back the added comment on how he could not feel anything for someone he did not know. For good measure – and also to see how far he could push the jounin – Iruka added "I never did…"

Apparently those three words were more than enough to throw Kakashi over the edge. Narrowing his gaze, the jounin quashed any depressing emotions, before they had a chance to even register in his mind. Studying Iruka, he could still feel that old attraction towards the younger man, but there was something else there alongside it – hatred.

"Defeat me and I will pass you" was all Kakashi said, before he stepped backwards and started forming a rapid sequence of hand seals. Iruka almost immediately recognized the jutsu and, without a single word to the jounin, he performed his own unique skill.

Using carefully mixed amounts of his energies, Iruka shaped a form that was far from the scythe, the shuriken, or any other weapon he had forged before. No, this one had to be perfect. Somehow knowing that Kakashi was unable to sense the delicate jutsu he and Mizutamari Mari had created in the past few years, Iruka smirked as he glanced over at the jounin, seeing that Kakashi was finally done with his seals. Waiting until the jounin finally looked to him, Iruka felt his body ripple as he started putting his plan into effect. Without any warning, the brunet's muscular frame was torn in two, each half reforming into a whole being – identical to the figure standing next to him.

Kakashi watched this with both his natural eye and the Sharingan, but he found himself in the same situation as the last time he had seen two of Iruka. Not even the swirling red eye was able to tell him which one was the real person, and which was his illusion. Much like last time, however, Kakashi instinctively felt a pull towards one, but not the other.

Knowing this would be information better kept from the chuunin, Kakashi attacked both of them, splitting his Katon between both of them, though he was not surprised when they easily evaded it before rushing him. Had it not been from training with both Gaara and Kankuro, Kakashi would have been at a disadvantage having two opponents, but both Sabaku had their unique skills that gave them the ability to have a double that did not drain their energy like it would other shinobi.

Shifting to dodge one Iruka's punch, Kakashi found himself stepping backwards into the attack of the second. The only thing that saved him was a fast movement as he unsheathed both his swords, and used the swords to block the scythe. Cursing almost immediately, Kakashi saw the energy surrounding the curved blade as he felt his own weapons give, easily being cut into pieces from the sharpened chakra blade.

That move, however, had given him the time to move out of the way, but Kakashi still found himself at the mercy of the first Iruka – the one he was considering to be the real one, if his instincts were right. Twisting his body, the silver-haired shinobi was just able to escape the kunai pointed at his heart, but he could still feel the blade tear through the side of his ribcage. It was a shallow wound, Kakashi instantly surmised, which was due not only to his reflexes, but because his thick uniform had made his attacker miscalculate his size. If it had been a year ago, Kakashi was sure that Iruka's blade would have left a bad mark, but he had slimmed down a great deal since then, so it just barely grazed his side, tearing more at his clothes than anything else.

Realizing his mistake, the first Iruka's eyes narrowed, and he attacked again, this time his movements were vicious in their speed. Kakashi barely had the time to breathe between attacks, but he nearly forgot about the doppelganger until he ducked, feeling several of his hairs being shortened by an energy-infused blade.

Quickly realizing this was not like his sparring matches with Gaara and Kankuro –both of these figures were acting on their own accord, and not being controlled by one or the other – Kakashi knew exactly what he had to do. With what was left of his katana, he sliced at one Iruka, driving the brunet back far enough to give Kakashi some room.

The second Iruka, however, still attacked him and, this time, Kakashi used that slow, boiling anger towards the man to fuel his counterattack. Throwing himself into a flurry of physical attacks, Kakashi no longer felt when he made contact or missed, when he blocked or when he was hit. At that moment, he was acting on instinct and a hatred that he never knew he was capable of possessing.

This was the man he had been fooled into trusting – the one person Kakashi had deluded himself into thinking he could be with, for more than just a night of passion. He was the person that forced Kakashi to leave his village, his friends, and everything else he held dear. With that, Kakashi landed a punch squarely into the brunet's chest, causing him to fall backwards several feet. No longer sensing the other Iruka coming to sneakily attack him, Kakashi took the momentary reprieve to focus his energy in his right hand.

Within moments, a loud chirping sound filled the silent arena and, with a soft curse, Kakashi propelled himself forwards. Knowing he would not be able to take out his revenge on the real person, he was glad to substitute the man's illusion that was so perfect, the only thing that told them apart was Kakashi's pitiful feelings for him that, despite the hatred and anger, still remained.

Letting out a battle cry, Kakashi chambered his fist and, with a speed he had never before possessed, took his anger out on the second Iruka. The illusion's eyes widened as he realized Kakashi meant to destroy him. Flitting back, he was able to dodge several of the attacks, no sane person would even attempt to block. The last of Kakashi's punches, aimed low, forced him to jump up in the air to escape in time.

Almost as soon as his feet left the ground, he realized he had been trapped – that Kakashi had been several steps ahead of him this whole time. Unable to get away in time, he watched in horror as Kakashi easily altered his position in the split second it took for Iruka to land back on the ground. His fist now moving in a fierce punch, Kakashi felt a moment of satisfaction when he finally felt his fist connect with his opponent's chest, tearing through him with ease.

Kakashi froze as soon as he felt his fist come out the other side of the brunet's upper torso. Waiting to hear the distinctive sound of the doppelganger disappearing, it took a few painfully silent moments for Kakashi to realize that soft _pop_ was not coming. Instead, the only thing he could hear besides the chirping of his Chidori, was deathly silence and then, a soft gasp.

"_Doshite…_" That quiet whisper was the most agonizing sound Kakashi had ever heard. Unable to move, his body no longer paying any attention to his mind, Kakashi could only stare ahead, his eyes focused on his bloodied hand. Almost as though mocking himself for his own intelligence, Kakashi reminded himself that doppelgangers did not bleed that much.

Without warning, the world around him came rushing back, and Kakashi realized that that silence was of his own making. All around him, there were cries, but there was one that rose above all. Kakashi did not have to recognize the words to know who had screamed. That loud, obnoxious voice had grated on his ears for so long he doubted he would ever be able to forget it or its blonde owner.

Finally able to move, Kakashi turned his head, his eyes focusing on the pale scar running across the young man's nose. Feeling the body against his own start slipping, he unconsciously moved, falling on his knees to cushion the man's fall. Cradling the motionless form, Kakashi let both of his eyes trail down his oddly peaceful face. His skin was too pale – almost blending in with his mysterious scar. His eyes were closed, thick lashes brushing against his cheeks. Moving down to his lips, Kakashi saw a trail of blood trickling from the corner of his emotionless lips. Incapable of doing anything other than stare in disbelief, Kakashi found his gaze focusing on the gaping hole in a chest that should have never seen such a battle.

Letting out a soft whimper, Kakashi brought his right hand, shaking uncontrollably, to rest over the large wound. Almost reflexively, Kakashi tore at his uniform, pulling his scarf away from his face and balling it up. Pressing it against the hole in a futile attempt to staunch the blood flow, Kakashi could not help but inwardly repeat, in denial, how doppelgangers did not bleed to such an extent. The blood seeping through the pale material, staining it a deep crimson, was enough proof of that fact.

"Iruka," Kakashi let out a quiet sob as he looked back to the chuunin's face, no longer able to see much from behind his watery gaze. Bowing his head until his forehead was resting on the brunet's shoulder, Kakashi felt that icy façade of his shatter. "You were supposed to be the illusion…" he whispered to the chuunin, his words choked with emotion and tears. Tightening his hand around the soaked material at the brunet's chest, Kakashi felt his body tremble, as he replayed the last few moments. He had been sure he knew which one was which…there was no way he could have been wrong.

"You idiot. You bastard…" Kakashi said quietly, his voice trembling, as he wished he could revive his momentary misplaced hatred towards the chuunin. At least hatred would not be tearing at him so painfully. Bringing his gaze upwards so he could look into the chuunin's face, Kakashi found himself unable to believe that he had made such a horrible mistake. "You shouldn't have taken the exams. You were happy at the academy. Why the hell did you ever listen to me!?"

Raising his voice, Kakashi weakly pounded his fist into the chuunin's mangled chest. "I told Tsunade I wouldn't fight you. The only way I could do it was if she would reassign me to Suna. I couldn't take being near you again, being reminded how much I hurt you.

"Damn it, I would have done anything for you. The least you could have done was tell me 'no' - told me to stop before I took things too far. I thought you deserved better than me…and I was right…" Kakashi let out a soft groan, wishing he'd had the sense to tell Iruka all of this before. He should have told the chuunin nearly a year ago – gone to him and begged for forgiveness, on his hands and knees if he had to. Anko's presence in Iruka's life shouldn't have made any difference.

A soft gasp escaped the jounin when he felt something brush gingerly against his cheek. Looking up quickly, he saw a pair of half-lidded eyes studying him with the compassion he had always admired the young man for, his trembling fingers stroking Kakashi's wet cheek. "Iruka…"

"_B-baka_." The chuunin's words, more of a wheeze than anything else, tore at Kakashi's heart more than he had ever imagined possible. Moving to grasp that shaking hand, Kakashi held the cold fingers against his cheek, unable to pull his gaze away from the chuunin's. For a moment, all he focused on was that trembling hand and those doe eyes.

"Why did you take the exam, Iruka?" Kakashi could not help himself from asking as he studied the chuunin's pale features. The young man's blood-stained lips quirked into an almost imperceptible smile as Iruka looked into Kakashi's eyes.

"T-to pr-prove t-to…" Though he was unable to finish his statement, Kakashi knew exactly what he had been trying to say. He had wanted to prove himself to one person in particular – the person he was staring at intently. He had wanted to prove himself to the jounin who was now staring at him with a pained expression. The brunet's words had been slurred, his rapid gasps for air sending stabs of agony through Kakashi. He could hear the way Iruka's breath caught in his throat, unable to even inhale. Already, the visible parts of his lips, not coated in blood, were turning an unhealthy shade of blue.

Kakashi bowed his head for a moment, wishing he had not chosen, right before the moment of impact, to drop his fist to the man's midsection. He was unable to aim for the man's heart, despite believing the brunet was just doppelganger. Even as an illusion, Kakashi could not bring himself to destroy him instantaneously. If he'd had the strength to do so, he would not have to now look down at the chuunin's decimated torso and stifle a sob. It would have been a mercy to have killed him in a single hit. Now Kakashi was tortured with being forced to watch the chuunin slowly suffocate, because he no longer was able to breathe with his chest cavity so destroyed.

"You had nothing to prove, least of all to me," Kakashi whispered more to himself than for any other pair of ears. As he thought about his words, he was amazed to realize that, no matter what else he thought about the chuunin, once he got to know the man as someone more than a high-strung teacher, he always saw Iruka as an amazing shinobi. Looking back into the teacher's face, he wished he had never dared to question Iruka's loyalty to the village or mistrust him for his unique abilities.

Even moments ago, when Iruka was fighting Genma, Kakashi had seen him as an enemy, though now he would have to admit he too would be mad if someone was trying to kill him. Then again, Iruka was always quick to anger, but his temper burned out in mere moments if no one stoked it further. Dropping his head, Kakashi wished he'd had the sense to recall that before, but he had ignored his close tie to the teacher – he was too hurt after hearing about Anko, after seeing Iruka after all this time. Even a year of ignoring his feelings for the young man, running away to another entire village, was not enough to quell what he now realized to be true, as he helplessly watched the chuunin futilely try to inhale, his mouth opening and closing without any air passing by colored lips. Taking a deep breath, Kakashi finally spoke the words he had been so afraid to say a year ago, "I love you…"

The chuunin didn't respond other than smiling slightly, closing his mouth as his lips turned upwards, as though he had been aware of that fact all along. Kakashi brought those limp fingers to his lips, gingerly rubbing his lips against the man's knuckles, in the tenderest gesture he could muster. Kakashi glanced back up at the chuunin's face and found himself feeling a new level of pain, when he saw the brunet's eyes closing slowly, as though he could no longer fight to keep his heavy lids up. Kakashi pressed his lips against the chuunin's cold hand, knowing that Iruka had finally given up. There was no way anyone could heal the extensive damage, much less in the few moments he had, and the stubborn teacher finally was able to come to terms with that fact.

Almost as soon as thick lashes fluttered down to touch his pale cheeks, Kakashi felt the fingers in his grasp begin to slip, what little life they had left in them rapidly disappearing before him. Nearly crushing Iruka's knuckles against his lips, Kakashi watched his face, praying for the chuunin to start gasping for air again, but that moment never came. As in everything else he did, Iruka was going with dignity and not pointlessly dragging out his last few moments.

"No. I-Iruka," Kakashi whispered, bringing his right hand up to brush his thumb against the chuunin's cheek, leaving a streak of red, but the young man did not react, other than fluttering his eyes open for a split second. There was no smile, no turn of his face, nothing to indicate that Iruka had even felt the touch, other than that one momentary flicker of movement. Finally letting go of the chuunin's limp hand, Kakashi brought his other hand to the young man's other cheek, lifting his head ever so slightly so he could kiss cold lips. He could taste the metallic tang of blood, but it was the sweetest, most gentle kiss Kakashi could muster.

Choking on a sob, Kakashi pulled the brunet's motionless body into his arms, a part of him unable to believe he had been wrong – that he had miscalculated and, for all of his genius, he had killed the one person he cared for most. "Please, Iruka, I'm sorry. Please don't leave me," he murmured into the chuunin's soft hair, regretting those few moments when he had convinced himself Iruka was anything other than the loyal teacher he had always been. Perhaps if he had believed Iruka back then – when the chuunin told him he was not a danger to the village – the brunet would still be alive. Letting out a cry that quickly dissolved into uncontrollable sobs, Kakashi clung to the chuunin's body.

So caught up in his self-recrimination, Kakashi didn't hear the change in the audience, their cries turning into a painful silence in mere moments. He was too focused on whispering apologies to ears that would never hear them, that he didn't sense someone approaching him. He didn't even feel the sharp object press against his neck, slowly slicing through bronzed skin, but careful not to sever any major blood vessels.

The only thing that pulled Kakashi away from his mourning was the achingly familiar voice behind him, filled with a hint of humor and more malice than any one person should be capable of. Though the tone was different, deeper, and in many ways darker, it was unmistakable.

Immediately turning to look, more out of amazement and disbelief than anything else, Kakashi found himself staring at the one person he had been least expecting to ever see again. Realizing what he was witnessing, Kakashi smiled sadly, wishing his emotions were not so skewed that he felt a pang of affection towards the man holding a blade to his neck. What was worse was that, when he spoke, Kakashi swore his heart began to race. It had been nearly a year since the last time the jounin had heard the young man call him by his first name, but it was different now, as he stared up into the blackest eyes he had ever seen. He'd never thought that hearing his name roll off someone's tongue would give him a rush of both excitement and pure, unexplainable fear.

_"I think I win, Kakashi…"_

--

Authoress; YOSH! How about that for a fast-paced, plot turning chapter! //squeals// Anyways…awesomeness…I can't wait for next chapter!

B.Z.: .... O.O ... HOW COULD YOU?!?!?!?! Just when things were about to be FIXED!!!!!!! *throws computer* *glares and pouts* Now... I am NEVER TALKING TO YOU AGAIN ...unless you make things happier in the next chapter...which hopefully will be written VERY soon...

Authoress: I just want to thank all of you guys for staying with this story so long…but the end is finally coming soon! So please review so I get around to writing sooner!! Until next time, ja ne!!


	8. Escape

Authoress: YOSH! Back again! I'm keeping my rants short…I have such an itch to write…but just to warn everyone, this is an unbetaed chapter, so I apologize for any mistakes I may have made!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…wouldn't it be amazing if I did?

**Chapter Seven**

_Darkness. The first thing he was aware of. Second came the deathly chill that froze him to the very core until he was certain that he would never know warmth again. It did not matter, however, how cold or dark it was. All that mattered was that there was no more pain. No more agony ripping through his body, no more loneliness. There was no anguish to deaden every nerve in his body, no all-encompassing distress. He was gloriously, blissfully, and wonderfully numb. Nothing could hurt him in this sanctuary – nothing could ever touch him again. He would never have to _feel_ again and, for that, he would give anything, even if it meant never returning to the light._

--

The blonde woman watched in horror as the battle escalated. She had known Kakashi had impossibly quick reflexes, but she knew that it was no longer instinct that moved him, but that this went far beyond human capabilities. They were moving so quickly, she could not catch a glimpse of that red eye, but she knew it was exposed, narrowed into a hardened glare at his opponent.

She had to fight the urge to cry out when she heard the soft chirping that, somehow, drowned out the cheering crowds. It was a foreboding sound that made her tighten her grip on the armrests. She had seen the sheer destructive power of the jutsu, much like many other spectators, but she also knew that there was no way to lessen a hit by holding back. There was no way someone could survive a direct hit and, from his aim, that was just what the jounin was going for. Traitorously, she could only wonder how the man knew which of the brunets fighting him had been the clone in order to make such a technique viable. No matter what, she could not see the jounin purposely harming the brunet he now fought with deadly intent. He had to somehow know that the man he fought was the clone – there was no other possibility.

Then, as soon as that ominous sound filled the arena, it vanished. It had all happened so quickly, Tsunade could not begin to grasp what had happened until the brunet's legs gave out. Almost as though they were one, the jounin fell as well, though he landed on his knees and caught the other shinobi in his arms, whereas the brunet simply crumpled to the ground.

A small gasp escaped her lips as she watched in horror as the jounin – without so much as a moment of hesitation – tore his scarf away and put pressure on the gaping hole he had created. Tsunade did not have to look at the injury to know that, no matter how quickly she moved, there was no healing such a wound. Only after that thought did she slowly realize that such a hit would have destroyed a doppelganger, not injured it.

"Not Iruka," she dared to whisper as she covered her mouth, stifling a sob as she clung to an armrest for support. She did not trust her own feet, so she fought back the urge to stand and look down on the scene unfolding before her. Unable to pull her eyes from the arena, she stared in sick fascination, words that were only meant for one pair of ears amplified throughout the stadium for all to hear and equally gasp over. They were words no one could have imagined from such a shinobi, much less a jounin repudiated to be emotionless.

Somehow able to break her gaze, Tsunade glanced to her left where a group of silent teens sat, varying degrees of horror and despair etched in their faces. Those expressions only deepened when another voice echoed throughout the silent arena.

"I think I win, Kakashi…" Those words were ones that made Tsunade's head swivel back, her eyes searching out the source of the achingly familiar voice, but almost as soon as she caught sight of the Copy Cat Nin and the man that had appeared mere inches behind him, she gasped for a whole new host of reasons.

"Baa-chan! Get the shield down!" She was ripped from her staring when she heard a voice she had most certainly not been expecting. Blinking as she turned around just in time to see two figures race into the heavily guarded box, Tsunade furrowed her eyebrows as her eyes fell on the blonde teen skidding to a stop before her. A year had certainly changed him; his face had narrowed, his voice deepened slightly, but he was so much the same she could not help but smile sadly.

"Naruto?" she asked quietly, trying to make sense of everything that was happening around her. The boy was not even supposed to be in the village, much less at the jounin exams. For a moment, her eyes flickered over to the sannin at the boy's side who gave her a serious look that told the Hokage now was not the time to be asking questions concerning their arrival.

"Take it down now! I've got to get in there!" Naruto rushed to say as he gestured towards the well-protected arena. Tsunade cocked her head to the side, still not understanding the boy's impatience. Iruka had undoubtedly won, so the exams were now over; the shields would be taken down in time, perhaps in a few minutes when everyone got over the shock of witnessing the first exam where a person defeated all of their jounin examiners. Not to mention doing so in such a display of faking his own death.

"Do as he says." Turning towards the boy who had spoken with such unchecked emotion, Tsunade was amazed to find herself looking into the wide eyes of the Kazekage. In all of the time she had known Gaara, she had never once seen such frightening emotions in his eyes. For the first time since the exams began, she caught a glimpse of his deep-seeded concern for and his closeness to the jounin. "Kakashi is in danger!"

Tsunade almost shook her head, wondering what the two teens could possibly be talking about, but then she felt the dark chakra that had been slowly filling the arena. Her gaze whipped back to the decimated battleground, her eyes catching the glint of steel pressed against the jounin's neck, but Kakashi was making any move to get out of harm's way. It was so unlike Kakashi that she could only stare in amazement.

"Iruka won't hurt him," she said quietly to herself, recalling her conversation with Mizutamari Mari. She had been so adamant – so sure – that Iruka could not harm a fly that she was unable to believe, even with the evidence before her, that the brunet was capable of bringing pain to another person. Yet Aoba had nearly been killed, Genma's condition was deteriorating by the moment, and Kakashi…Kakashi was no longer putting up a fight.

The next three words out of Naruto's mouth, said with a coldness Tsunade never wanted to know the boy was capable of, were ones that made her freeze as she looked at the figure standing behind Kakashi under a new light.

"That's not Iruka…"

She stared at the brunet standing behind Kakashi, momentarily unable to shake the feeling that he was the same kindhearted teacher that everyone knew and loved. He looked very much the same, though admittedly she could not see his face from this angle. His body language bespoke anger, but not the kind of evil Mizutamari Mari was afraid of. No, she could not imagine the teacher becoming the monster his teacher had foreseen, but the dark energy that made her very hair stand on end told her another story. It told her that she had somehow miscalculated and that the young man was no longer that compassionate person that everyone loved and trusted. No, now he was something that struck fear into the Hokage's very heart.

"It will take a few minutes to even make an opening in the shield," Tsunade mumbled as she shakily stood up. She numbly stared forwards as she gestured for the collection of guards around her to spread the order. The shield must come down; the stadium evacuated. No matter what else, she first had an obligation to protect her village and, if that meant putting one of her best jounin's lives in danger to give her the necessary time to do so, she would have to take that risk. She glanced over to Naruto and saw his furrowed eyebrows.

"Kakashi might not have a few minutes…"

--

Kakashi could not pull his eyes away from those staring at him with such a lack of emotion he felt a chill overcome him. It was not simply the heartlessness in what should have been a gentle gaze, but that, where brown eyes should be, were orbs of the darkest shade of black. Kakashi took a sharp breath, knowing that he was not hallucinating. Though his features were so unlike those Kakashi was familiar with, the jounin knew exactly who he was.

Removing the blade from Kakashi's neck, the young man took a step backwards and, as he considered the jounin before him, he pulled all of his loose hair away from his face, revealing a pale scar running across the bridge of his nose. Chuckling at the jounin's widening eyes, he looked down at the Copy Nin and, for the first time, saw Kakashi visibly show terror in his entire face.

Though half of his face was covered by long strands of hair that, before Kakashi's very eyes, bled from a soft chestnut to an immaculate white that did not seem to match with his dark skin, Kakashi could still see the elongated features that would make him stand out even more than his hair. Smiling, the young man revealed rows of fang-like teeth that, on anyone else, would have seemed frightening, but at the moment, Kakashi was too stunned to feel anything in the same scope as fear.

Having to mentally state that Iruka was no longer alive, was more difficult than Kakashi could have imagined, but he knew it to be true. Before the jounin stood, not the man he loved, but the physical manifestation of the part of Iruka that he had been so desperate to hide. In front of Kakashi was the dark, evil side - the monster…the demon.

Knowing that his movements were a mistake, Kakashi did not hesitate to look away from the creature, his gaze returning to the limp form in his arms. As he watched the brunet's still body, it lost all color, becoming transparent before beginning to melt away, leaving nothing of the teacher other than a puddle of water that quickly soaked into the ground beneath Kakashi.

"Human bodies are over ninety percent water, so it was quite easy to create a perfect clone that could even fool you, Kakashi." Kakashi smiled sadly at these words. So his instincts – his heart – had not been wrong. He _had_ been able to tell which one was the doppelganger. If only he had somehow realized that someone of the chuunin's abilities could make that clone so seemingly human that it could even bleed.

"I thought he was the clone," Kakashi mumbled weakly as he slowly turned back to look at the being standing so close to him. The jounin could catch the barest whiffs of a scent he had all but eradicated from his memory in his exile in Suna. Salt - Kakashi had always assumed it to be from the vast quantities of ramen the young man inhaled, but he now realized it was the distinct tang of salt water.

The creature before him – for Kakashi could no longer truly call him a man – was a being of the sea. Every feature on him could only be described as fluid. His very movements were as slow and graceful as water itself, but they also bespoke a barely contained power that Kakashi could not help but be impressed by.

Kakashi felt a small smile tug at the corner of his mouth. It was not a grin borne out of happiness – anything but. It was a mixture of sadness and regret, added to which was a touch of self-hatred, that made him slowly move to stand before the creature. Standing at his full height, Kakashi realized he was at eye-level with the demon, but that did not stop him from being mildly intimidated. Not only was the creature breathtaking in much the same way destructive storms and fires fascinated spectators, but the sheer energy and power he controlled exuded from every inch of him was sickeningly beautiful.

The jounin could not help but look into those dark eyes, able to see neither pupil nor iris under the blackness that coated the orbs. Somehow without the cues of slight changes in eye color, he was still able to realize that those pitch black eyes were filled with hatred towards him.

"What now, Kakashi?" the demon asked, his tone mocking, but at the same time, held a death threat that not even Kakashi could ignore. Shivering slightly at those words, the jounin shook his head. "You have nothing to say to me? But you were so…_vocal_ only a few moments ago.

"Kind of pitiful actually," he continued as he took a step to the side, slowly starting to circle Kakashi much like a wolf will move around its prey. "One of the village's greatest shinobi, reduced to a whimpering idiot simply because he killed the person he _loved_.

"What is love to you, Kakashi? Is it betrayal, is it mistrust? How about seduction, hm? Love must be vanishing for nearly a year, without a single word, much less an explanation."

"I love you," Kakashi whispered as he bowed his head, neither directing his words at the demon nor speaking solely to himself. He was unsure if he should even tell the creature his feelings. How much of the Iruka he fell in love with was left? Glancing up, he saw the demon take a step back, slightly surprised by Kakashi's soft declaration. It was so painfully similar to Iruka's reaction when surprised that it made Kakashi's heart ache. "I left to protect you. I thought you would have been better off without me…"

"_Protect_?" he repeated quietly, the word coming out as nothing more than a hiss. Without warning, he raised a hand and, without so much as laying a finger on Kakashi, the jounin found himself catapulted into the air. The very breath knocked out of him by the force of the unseen hit, Kakashi could only fall onto his back, skidding several feet across the ground as he gasped frantically for air. "_Protect_ me?!" His words were no longer those cold, calculated utterances. For the first time, they were laced with very human emotions. Hatred, disbelief, anger, but most of all, pain coated his words.

The jounin closed his eyes at those words, able to picture his Iruka saying them perfectly. His eyebrows would have been furrowed, his mouth cracked open slightly, but it would be his emotion-filled eyes that would get Kakashi's chest to hurt. Those chocolate orbs would be the only thing that would reveal the full extent of Kakashi's betrayal – the pain Iruka had felt. The mere thought of his brown eyes, filling with tears he would fight to keep from shedding, was one that made Kakashi's own vision to blur.

Kakashi slowly sat back up, wincing in pain as he did so. The jounin bit back a curse as he brought an arm up to cradle his midsection where he could feel several ribs move unnaturally, sending jolts of agony through his body. It was no wonder such a powerful attack would break bone, but he had not been expecting a good third of his ribs to be cracked by a single hit that had only grazed him. Somehow, not a single shard of bone had pierced any organ, however, if the lack of unendurable pain was any indicator. As he looked back up to the pale-haired creature, he realized why he had no mortal injuries from the hit. _He_ had not wanted him to be so badly wounded. If that glint to his ebony eyes was any hint, he was going to get pleasure from dragging this out.

"I won't fight you, Iruka," Kakashi said softly, directing his words, as well as the name, towards the creature. He could not help but hope that there was something of the Iruka he once knew buried beneath the monster that now smiled at Kakashi. At the sound of the name of a much beloved teacher, the demon outright laughed.

"Then this won't take long at all," the demon replied as he tightened clawed hands into fists, his eyes narrowing as he studied Kakashi. "At least make it a challenge for me," he added as he took a step towards the jounin. They both knew that Kakashi's participation in the fight, or lack of it, would not affect the outcome.

Seeing sinewy muscles bunch together on thighs, revealing weight was being shifted as an offensive stance was taken, Kakashi closed his eyes and put his life into fate's hands. Whatever happened to him, he deserved it, but at least he would die knowing that he had never laid a hand on Iruka in violence. It was the one thing he could do for the man he still loved.

"Goodbye, Kakashi."

--

"What the hell is taking so long!?" Naruto cried as he banged against the impenetrable shield, immediately being thrown backwards a few steps from coming in contact with the force field. Tsunade glanced over to the pair of shinobi – both masters of chakra control – working frantically to unweave the intricate jutsu that normally took several minutes to take down. It was never meant to be disassembled so rapidly, but one would not know that from the progress made so far. The two jounin, along with the small army of comrades that were moving as quickly as they could, had already been able to weaken the shield so that, when Naruto now moved to touch the shield, it bent slightly under the pressure of his fingers and no longer attacked the headstrong boy with a wave of chakra.

There were signs that revealed that the shield was not designed for something like this. It had already lashed out, knocking Lee and several others unconscious. Gaara was still nursing a large burn down his forearm and Neji's once long locks were singed to half their length, but the teens refused to move to safety. They demanded to be the first ones through the shield. With a saddened smile, Tsunade knew that they would be the only ones. The shield was not being taken down; it was being weakened enough for an opening to be made just long enough for some people to get in. Those brave souls now rallied around her, itching to go help the silver-haired jounin who refused to raise a hand to the creature relentlessly attacking him.

Tsunade winced when she saw Kakashi be hit by a particularly powerful upper cut, throwing the man several feet, though he amazingly landed on his feet before bowling over and coughing. It was painful to watch, but she could not help but keep her eyes trained on the fight out of respect for the Copy Cat Nin and for the man Iruka had once been.

"Now!" one of the jounin cried as he pointed towards a point in midair that anyone could see lacked the bluish tint of the shield. Without any other words of encouragement, four teens slipped through the small opening before the hole closed back on itself and the two exhausted jounin collapsed onto the floor.

"Should we have let them go?" Jiraiya asked quietly as he watched the four teenagers quickly making their way towards the creature pummeling Kakashi. He had gotten to know Iruka over the past year and could not shake the feeling that there was no way Iruka could be violent – no matter what, the man could never become evil – but the proof stared him in the face as he watched the demon stand up slowly, deliberately.

Apparently he sensed that he had company.

--

He could only laugh outright as he dodged a perfectly executed punch, followed by a roundhouse from behind. For humans, they were excellent, even impressive, he would admit, but they were far too slow. Their movements were almost sluggish to him, weighed down by their human limitations. Easily moving out of range of a kunai, he outright grinned. About time they took him seriously.

Without warning, a hand crafted from pristine sand rose from behind him, moving with lightening speed to grab him, but he was no longer there by the time the fingers began constricting. Focusing most of his attention on that sand laced deliciously with demonic chakra, it took little more than a thought to keep himself from being injured by the other attackers. It was almost too easy.

That realization gave him pause as he took a moment to glance around, having sensed four energy sources, but only three teens were attacking him. Spying the last of the youths, he smirked. They were smart – perhaps almost too smart for mere humans. But, then again, they had two demon containers among them. They should know what to expect.

Watching the swirling blue chakra coming from teen's hand, he licked his lips. This was going to prove interesting. Without any heed for the other three teens, he raced towards the blue-eyed human with such speed, the boy's clones helping sculpt the energy let out squeaks of surprise. The actual human, on the other hand, only gave him a cold glance before turning to face him.

His feet made no sound on the ground, his breathing halted – even his very heart seemed to freeze in anticipation as he took those last final steps towards the boy. The blonde's face, torn by internal conflict, was hauntingly beautiful and it was not until he saw the teenager's hips turn, his hand whipping around after the rest of his body with a frightening forcefulness that he realized what the boy was planning. There was no way to stop the jutsu now, both he and the teen knew, but he also knew that something in the boy had changed. He had lost his conviction – the boy had realized he could not kill him so heartlessly. If he could, the blonde would have pulled back or deflected the attack, but the teen was helpless as he was.

_Smart brat…_he conceded as he momentarily stared into impossibly blue eyes that were coated by tears that ran unchecked down scarred cheeks. Almost as soon as he caught a glimpse of those tears, he looked back at the ball of energy in the shape of a shuriken barreling towards him. _Naruto_. The boy's name blindsided him as he felt his eyebrows furrow in a momentary flash of pain that had nothing to do with the jutsu connecting with his chest.

The chakra instantly burned through his light outfit, charring his skin beyond recognition and leaving a gaping hole in its wake. It was not until the jutsu tore through his back, as he was lifted from his feet by the teen's powerful attack, that he felt the first twinge of actual pain from the chakra. Almost as soon as he felt his back being shredded by the chakra, he let out the breath he had been holding in and his very body was torn to bits and scattered around the arena.

--

"Iruka!" Naruto dropped to his knees, clinging to his right hand – the hand that had destroyed his own father. Wordlessly, they had agreed he should be the one to end it, but it did not stop him from feeling the heart-wrenching guilt as he kept his eyes firmly closed, not wanting to see the scarlet-sprayed ground – the remains of his family.

Tears ran down his cheeks as Naruto rested his head on the ground, his very body trembling in such pain, he could not help but wonder if he was following his father into oblivion. For a moment, he only wondered if he should do just that.

When he had stared at the demon with uncaring eyes, he saw nothing of his father remaining – Iruka had truly been dead and that monster replaced him, taking over his body in a sickening mockery of what and who Iruka was. But the moment before his Rasengan made contact with flesh he had seen something that made his heart freeze. Those black orbs had changed for just a split second. He could have sworn he saw recognition in those eyes. And, he was not sure if it was wishful thinking on his part, but for a brief moment, he swore that it had been Iruka's chocolate eyes looking back at him.

"Well that stung more than I though it would."

Naruto gasped when he heard that statement, sure he must be hallucinating in order to hear such a familiar voice that his eyes were washed in a new wave of tears. Unable to help himself, he let out a sob, quickly looking up as he blinked his eyes to clear his vision.

His vision, however, did not lie. The figure before him tilted his head to the side as he reached backwards to rub a shoulder, his nonchalance both annoying and, at the same time, uplifting. Despite himself, a smile tugged at Naruto's lips as he studied the light-haired creature that now looked to him appreciatively.

"Not bad, but I suggest making sure you kill me next time," he added, his lips curving upwards into a smirk that revealed sharpened teeth. Naruto unconsciously nodded his head, recalling all of the times Iruka had pounded information into his head as he desperately tried to ignore the teacher.

"Iruka…" Naruto dared to whisper as he slowly stood back up, his eyes trained on the being before him. He was alive, but more importantly, he was whole and unharmed. A part of the blonde could not help but wonder how such a feat was possible, but the rest of him was too happy to care. The heartening realization that he had not killed his father washed over him and Naruto found himself crying again, though for far different reasons. "How?" Naruto asked quietly, unable to move his gaze from the creature, whole and uninjured, though the blonde swore he had felt his Rasengan tear through his body.

"I'm not a human, gaki," he replied with a chuckle as he glanced down at his own hand, flexing his fingers in attempts to speed up the regeneration of the cells that would return the feeling to his hands. Though not exactly a demon, he was not enough of a human to be limited to their fragility. Hearts, lungs…those were human necessities for life. So long as he still had his chakra, he could pull himself back together for the rest of eternity, no matter how injured or destroyed his body was. Of course, the ability to heal no matter the wound did not mean he did not feel pain. He had to fight the urge to wince as he stretched backwards, feeling the bones in his torso painfully shifting against organs as they grew back to their normal proportions.

Naruto was immediately drawn towards the creature for no other reason than that, for a moment, he had seen the old Iruka in those eyes. As he had moved, Naruto could see in those dark eyes the pain he felt, though still trying to stubbornly deny it much like his father always did. Of course, when Iruka was in pain, he hid it because he didn't want people to worry about him – especially Naruto – but this creature's reasoning was one Naruto could not figure out entirely. Perhaps it was a remnant of his father – or the kindhearted person he had once been. It was enough reason for him to hope that Iruka would calm down and return to himself.

Before he reached the demonic being, the white-haired creature became a blur, moving out of range of one of Gaara's sand-based jutsu. Without hesitating, Naruto moved between the three teens and the being that had simply folded his arms across his chest, wordlessly taunting Gaara to catch him.

"Don't hurt him!" Naruto cried out as he stretched his arms outwards, showing that he meant to protect the creature behind him. He did not have to look backwards to know that a pale eyebrow had arched in curiosity at his actions. A part of the teen could not believe what he was doing, but he had to take the chance. If there was something of Iruka left, it was enough of a reason for Naruto to fight for him.

"Naruto, he is a danger to the village," Neji said softly, though his eyes were just as tortured as anyone else's. Staring at the Hyuuga for a moment, Naruto recalled the months Neji and Shikamaru had spent with the brunet teacher. They, too, had forged close relationships with the man, and were fighting against their love for Iruka to do what must be done.

"No…Iruka is still alive," Naruto retorted, his defense sounding weak even to his own ears. "I saw him," he added as he looked to the three teens imploringly. Just one other person who believed Iruka could come back would be enough for Naruto – he just wanted to know he was not seeing things because he was desperate. He would do anything to bring his father back. "Please…"

"While the four of you discuss what you are going to do with me, I think I am going to go over and kill that annoying jounin," the demon declared lightly as he waved to the four before turning on his heel and walking towards whatever direction he had thrown Kakashi in last.

"Wait!" Naruto swiveled around, directing his exclamation at the creature. For a moment, the demon stiffened, before he turned back and stared at Naruto curiously. "Please, Iruka. You don't have to do this. Kakashi deserved to have the crap beaten out of him, but not to die…not like this."

"Try to stop me," he replied coldly, the once light and joking tone disappearing under layers of hatred and pain. Naruto frowned, trying to figure out how much of that emotion was the demon and how much was his hot-headed, mildly bipolar father who had been hurt and betrayed by the jounin he now had a vendetta against.

Before he even got the chance to take another step, the creature's foot froze in midair. His head did not turn, but his eyes strained to look to the ground where a suspicious shadow was stretched across the earth. He could not stop himself from smirking at the crafty teens. He doubted the blonde even realized he had been used as bait, distracting him just long enough to get one of the other teens in position.

Instead of wasting his energy trying to move, he let his body follow the pulls of an unseen puppeteer. Turning around, he was able to catch a glimpse of the narrow-eyed brunet before shifting his gaze towards the three other teens coming towards him.

"Impressive, I must admit," he commented calmly as he studied the redhead appreciatively. There had been sand dusting the shadows, revealing how the Nara had been able to stretch his ability so far. Not that he would admit it to any one of the humans, but he was vastly impressed at how they were able to wordlessly communicate, flawlessly pulling off attacks that would have felled a normal opponent. He, however, was far from average. Flexing his arm, knowing that off to the side Shikamaru was staring at his own arm in horror as his forearm raised and lowered seemingly on its own accord, he smirked. "A little miscalculation, though."

"How?" Neji instantly demanded as his narrowed gaze met the creature's. To break the jutsu was one thing, but to turn it against the boy was not possible. Or at least it was impossible by human standards. Realizing how they could have been so far off with their mostly improvised strategy, he gulped. There were only two people who could possibly understand the capabilities of a being such as the one standing before him. Thankfully, however, both of them were standing next to the Hyuuga and staring at the demon with respect and awe. Their features were unmarred by the fear both Neji and Shikamaru felt, but how could they possibly be frightened by a being that, in so many ways, was similar to them?

Activating his Byakugan, Neji immediately saw how such a feat was achievable – how the demon could possibly control Shikamaru from such a distance with nothing connecting them. Around the Nara's moving arm was a thin network of red chakra, creating a perfect replication of his own chakra pathways. Staring at the brunet's arm a moment longer, Neji stepped back in surprise. The chakra was not _around_ Shikamaru's arm, but _inside_ it. It had somehow replaced the blue chakra that should have been there, yet it was causing no damage to the boy's arm.

Shifting his gaze to his own body, Neji saw the thin threads of red stretching throughout his own frame. He dare not look to Naruto and Gaara, unsure if he could distinguish between their chakra and the demon's if they were in the same situation.

Somehow, the creature had been able to weave his chakra into them without them noticing it at all. He and Shikamaru were as good as dead if the demon so wished it, but as he looked back to the monster, he saw something in those dark eyes that told him he need not fear for his life unless he did something rash. That unfamiliar energy warmed throughout his frame for a brief moment, reminding him of its presence. It was not a threatening change, just one that made him study the pale-haired creature under a new light. Perhaps Naruto was right…maybe there was a chance they could bring Iruka back. No cold-hearted demon would ever take the chance and inform his opponents of his upper hand. No, that was the compassionate teacher Neji befriended.

Revived by that thought, Neji took an offensive stance before quickly glancing to Shikamaru, Gaara, and Naruto. The blonde was the only one who smiled back at him, obviously reading Neji's change of heart from the teen's expression. Focusing his energy into the tips of his fingers, Neji took a steadying breath before moving.

He smiled, watching the Hyuuga race towards him. Effortlessly, he dodged the quick jabs and even more rapid swipes aimed towards delicate pressure points. Those attacks, though obviously not meant to harm him permanently, were still quite dangerous. If they made contact, they would leave him momentarily just as defenseless as they would a human, and, judging from the glint to those pale eyes, the teen was aware of that fact.

He could not help but laugh outright at the teen's spirit. Twisting to dodge a near perfect hit at his midsection, he vaulted into the air. Easily flipping over, he landed back on the ground in just enough time to block the merciless combination of attacks. Always careful of the teen's chakra-infused limbs, he found himself working up a sweat as he was forced to actually focus on the brunet as he moved. His awareness of the area around them dulled as he dropped to the ground to keep himself from being struck by an attack aimed for his throat. Quickly rolling, he was ashamed to admit that, in that moment, he had ignored the rest of the arena. All he had cared about were those rapidly moving hands and equally threatening feet. Just one hit and he would be helpless.

His ignorance of their surroundings was a mistake, he realized too late as he ran into a wall of sand that immediately began to collapse on him. Unable to do anything else, he melted into the ground and moved far from the chakra-infused soil before recombining and cautiously returning to the surface. Almost as soon as he pulled his feet out of the ground, he jumped to the side in order to dodge the blasted persistent pale-eyed brat.

Leaping upwards as he felt the ground beneath him shift, he was only given enough time to twist to the side, the spear of hardened sand grazing his side. The sharpened point effortlessly sliced through material and left a shallow incision between his ribs. He could not help but be impressed at their teamwork. Now he had to dodge long enough for the other two teenagers to show their abilities in conjunction with the others.

Growling softly as he fell back to the ground, refusing to check the scratch at his side despite the warm liquid seeping down his side and the sharp pain that shot up his back, he shifted his gaze towards the shadow-controlling teen. He was rapidly making his way through a sequence of hand seals that intrigued the creature. Such seals were powerful and certainly were not ones someone of the boy's youth should know.

Interested, he watched as the teen finished, planting his hands out on the ground. From his very fingers seeped an inky blackness that seemed to swallow up what little light the darkening sky shone downwards. Mesmerized by this unfamiliar jutsu, he took a step forwards, inching towards the darkness that was extending across the ground. Unable to help his inquisitive nature, he toed the edge of the spreading dark spot. He smirked as he felt the black substance pulling him downwards.

Shikamaru felt a smirk tug at his lips as he watched the creature curiously examine the pool of shadows. He had been right to assume that one part of Iruka's personality remained – the man was fascinated by things that he was unfamiliar with. Almost as soon as the demon's sandal touched the blackness, it moved on its own accord, wrapping around his leg and taking physical form. It was neither a liquid nor a solid – it held a fluidity that could almost be described as graceful, but at the same time was firm and unyielding to the demon's attempts to jerk backwards.

Feeling the jutsu begin to drain his energy, Shikamaru took a deep breath as he focused all of his concentration on keeping up the jutsu long enough for his friends to get the upper hand. The shadows needed no direction from him. With that first curious touch, they had scanned the demon's chakra and would now recognize him no matter where he was. There was no way to fully escape their powerful grasp.

The demon quickly discovered that fact for himself when he seeped into the ground to loosen the shadow's hold on him, only to rise to the surface several feet away and realize the shadows had followed him. Shikamaru could only smile at the interest the demon would most certainly be feeling. If it was anything like Iruka, it would be highly pleased by the jutsu no matter what danger it was in as a result.

He could only lick his lips as he barked out a laugh, attempting to shake his leg to wrestle the limb from the dark shadow's grasp. With each movement, however, the shadows only tightened around his calf and ankle, slowly inching up higher on his leg until those strong fingers clutched his upper thigh, making it impossible for him to move any appreciable distance.

"Stop this, Iruka," Naruto begged as he walked towards the demon, stopping mere inches away from the creature as he studied it with furrowed eyebrows. The feeling that Iruka was in there somewhere would not leave Naruto, not even when looking at the demon at this close distance. In response, the creature snarled, any hint of amusement disappearing from its achingly beautiful face.

"He is right, Iruka," Neji agreed softly as he came to stand next to Naruto, folding his arms across his chest as he watched the demon. Though he wanted desperately to believe Naruto's declaration, he still kept one hand pulsating with chakra in case he needed to move quickly to protect himself and his friends.

"Ah, but your runty friend does not agree with you," the demon stated calmly as he thrust his chin outwards, gesturing towards the redhead slowly approaching them. Naruto and Neji turned ever so slightly, twin gasps escaping pursed lips as they caught a glimpse of the young Kazekage.

It was not only the sea-green eyes darkened to a stormy shade that promised death to the pale-haired creature that made Naruto unconsciously step between the village leader and the demon. It was also the form that was draped across Gaara's arms. There was no mistaking who the Kazekage carried in his arms with such surprising gentleness.

It was not his face that made the blonde recognize the figure. Those features were too injured, too coated in blood, to be familiar. Nor was it the hair, silver streaked with scarlet, which caused a pang of pain in Naruto's chest. No, it was the pale robes, shredded and stained red, which caused a stifled gasp to escape from the blonde's throat. The man had looked so different – so foreign – in such garb that it struck Naruto to the point the blonde could not truly recall how his old teacher had once looked in a Konoha uniform.

A soft groan from the otherwise silent man made Naruto smile hopefully. Gaara slowly lowered himself to his knees, resting the jounin down on the ground with a care few knew he was capable of. Once he gingerly placed Kakashi's head down, making sure to avoid putting any pressure on the side of the man's head where most of the blood was coming from, he looked up to glare at the demon. No one deserved this, no matter how asinine and unfeeling one's actions were.

Straightening back up, Gaara stalked over to the demon. Once he stood toe to toe to the creature, he leaned in close enough that he could see the strong pulse beating in the man's tanned neck. Other than growling softly, he gave no warning before reaching with lightening-quick reflexes to wrap his fingers around that throat.

Digging his fingers into flesh, the Kazekage whispered under his breath so that only the demon could hear him, "If Kakashi did not care so much for you, I would kill you now. Touch another hair on his head – or on anyone else – and I will no longer take his feelings into consideration."

"You are threatening me?" the demon asked incredulously, raising a pale eyebrow in interest. Letting out a chuckle, he shook his head before bowing closer to Gaara. Lowering his voice, he snarled, "You are still alive only because I found you amusing."

"And now?" Gaara taunted, knowing full well Shikamaru's unique jutsu was still in place and, as long as it held out, the demon could not move, much less attack him. In response, the pale-haired creature growled as he lunged forwards, but his body below his waist refused to move. The Kazekage simply bent backwards to move out of the creature's range. "Are you still amused?"

"The novelty of playing with demon containers is starting to bore me," the demon hissed as he glanced down at the shadows slowly creeping up his torso. Glaring at the dark fingers, his eyes filled with hatred and promise of death, the creature took a deep breath before bringing his hands up to his face. Before Gaara even had the chance to register the demon was moving, he melted into the ground, the shadows that once held him in place falling limply back to the ground.

Shikamaru cursed softly as he pressed his hands more firmly against the ground, consciously searching for the demonic energy, but neither the Nara nor his shadows could pinpoint his location. It was as though he disappeared. Opening his eyes, the brunet glanced around the arena, but saw no sign of the demon.

_There! _ Sensing a flare of chakra, Shikamaru sent the shadows towards the energy, but almost immediately pulled them back when he saw that they were heading towards Neji. The Hyuuga, his eyes widened in surprise, took a step backwards as he stared at his palms.

It took Shikamaru no more than a split second to understand how his jutsu had mistook Neji for the demon – even he could sense the evil tinge both his and the Hyuuga's chakra had taken on since entering the arena. Apparently the demon was putting that subtle change to good use. From Neji's surprised expression, he could sense the momentary increase in demonic chakra pulsating through him.

It was now far too dangerous to use the jutsu now that it could not distinguish between them and the demon it was supposed to attack. Wordlessly recalling the jutsu, the Nara sat back on his heels and sighed in exhaustion. There would be no second attempt at such a technique unless he was willing to chance his own life to hold the creature down for a few seconds at most.

Shikamaru did not even get the chance to stand back up before he felt a presence behind him. As he moved to turn, he could hear something whizzing through the air and then there was a flash of pain in his neck, then oblivion.

_Shikamaru._ Much like the blonde boy, this one's name had given him pause, but he did nothing other than watch the unconscious teen drop unceremoniously to the ground. A well placed chop to the neck was all it took to reduce his opponents to three. He could not help but sigh at how easy it was to dispose of one. Of course, he had to give it to the teenager – that jutsu had drained the boy to the point he was all but dead on his feet. It was too bad that their little strategy did not hold him for long.

"Shikamaru!" Upon hearing the blonde's voice, he looked up and saw the glares directed at him. Even the boy that had stupidly tried to protect him from the other humans now had a hard quality to his face that made him smirk. Apparently those dreams of his beloved "Iruka" returning were starting to finally fade. About time – teenagers should not be disillusioned by their childish fancies.

Without another word, the three came at him. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes, not needing his vision to track their movements. The very air, heavy with the humidity that had been increasing so gradually he doubted any of the humans had even noticed the change, told him that the fastest of the three was the smallest of them – the redhead.

It was not surprising considering the tiny, pale boy was the demon container who had embraced what he was from a young age. The boy knew what it took to control the monster within himself. He also knew how to tap into that darkness and use it for his own ends. Chuckling, he could sense that the raccoon was screaming for the child to kill him. Demons always hated rivalry, especially when their enemies were so much more powerful than themselves.

Twisting to dodge a honed blade, created from the pale sand eking out of its curvaceous container, he laughed. The curved weapon was most certainly moving quickly enough even his own vision would have no chance of seeing it, but the young teen might have just as well outright stated his intentions. His sweat, the slight shifts in his tiny form, but most of all, the deep breaths that took in moist air told the creature exactly what the boy was planning.

It came as no shock that a second weapon came at him from behind. This one, unlike the other still intermittently swiping at him, cut the air with a different sound. It was far sharper than the molded sand of the other and, as he focused more of his intention on the new blade, he discovered why it had felt so different. The blade was impenetrable – not even the smallest drop of water could get through the blade, weighing it down gradually until it melted in a pile of wet soil.

Cracking open an eye as he craned backwards to dodge the blade, he immediately saw why the blade was so unusual compared to its brother weapon. This one, unlike the crudely formed creation of sand, was beautifully constructed. It held no imperfections, cracks, or rough edges. It glittered despite the dim lighting of the arena, though it held no color other than that reflected off of it. This weapon was not simply made of the chakra-infused sand, but was an evolved form. This blade, unlike the one now falling useless to the ground soaked through from the humid air around them, was not made of sand, but perfectly crafted glass.

Keeping his eyes on the blade, he was fascinated by the weapon. It was seemingly harmless, but its beauty was its greatest strength. One would immediately consider a glass blade fragile, not dangerous, when in fact it was anything but safe as he discovered as he watched it miss, striking the ground with enough force to create small craters. No, this blade was as strong as the purest of diamonds thanks to the demonic chakra coursing through it, granting it an ethereal glow.

Sensing a change in the air around him, he instinctively dove into the ground. Even as he soaked into the earth, he could not shake the feeling of a powerful hand skimming over the top of his head. That much chakra had it hit its intended target in his chest would have most certainly knocked him unconscious, if not killed him. That was far too close for comfort, but at the same time, he could not help but be impressed at the teen's speed and viciousness.

_Neji_…this name came to him as a surprise as he resurfaced several feet away from the teens, his eyes taking in the long-haired brunet. Glancing over to the redhead, he did not have to think to know his name and title. _The Kazekage…Gaara…Neji's boyfriend…_those seemingly innocent tidbits of information did not give him pause like the names of the other two teens had. No, this realization shook him to the very core, but he had no idea why.

Snarling when understanding finally dawned on him, he looked at the three teens with renewed hatred. They were the only things standing in his way. He could not let them live; they put his very existence in danger. Narrowing his eyes, a new desire to end their insignificant lives borne from his own fear, he promised himself the only thing he was sure of. _I will not go back…I won't let you return, Iruka…_

--

_Fear. Such a feeling was not supposed to exist here, of that he was certain, though he did not know why. Focusing on the emotion, he somehow knew it was not his own fear he could sense. No, this was someone else's – someone he could not place. Almost as soon as the fear hit him, something else blindsided him. This time, it was not a sensation, but an image. A child – no a young teen – had his arms wrapped around his neck, clinging for dear life. But he was crying. Why? Such impossibly blue eyes should never have a moment of sadness cross them. Unsure of little else, he knew this one thing to be fact. Then, as the tale continued on, the boy's tears were dissolved with a smile – he had been crying because he was happy. The teen's lips moved, a broad grin covering his scarred cheeks._

_ "Dad" was all he said, directing his words at one person in particular. Had he a body left, he would have dropped to his knees with the wave of indescribable emotion that hit him when he realized the boy had been speaking to _him_. It was happiness, it was pride, but it was also fear and insecurity – he did not know if he would make a good parent for the child who had placed his life in his hands. _

_It was humbling, but it was also uplifting. There were so many emotions, he longed to cry out, but no sound came. There was no release of the multitude of pent up emotions that threatened to destroy him. Then, as soon as he dared to admit his relationship to the boy, he knew it was not a dream, but a memory._

_ He was the father of the most compassionate and brave teen he knew. His son was going to become a great leader one day and was stubborn enough that he might very well achieve that dream. He wished he could smile at the boy's uniqueness – even as a baby, the blonde was a handful. Those memories, of a bubbly toddler, of a prankster child, were ones that sent another wave of emotion through him as he recalled the most important thing about the boy – his name._

_ Uzumaki Naruto…those two words sent a flash of pain through him as other images were dragged up from some invisible recess filled with horrible memories. The boy was fighting, though tears nearly blinded him. A quick jab that lacked conviction, as though he could not bring himself to hurt his attacker, was followed by a cry of pain. His son jumped backwards, clutching his abdomen. Unable to look away, he could see the scarlet liquid begin to seep between his trembling fingers, staining his bright jacket to a darkened shade that brought a wave of agony to him._

_ The boy was stepping backwards, unable to stop himself as he fell back, still wrapping an arm around his injury as though it was capable of staunching the blood flow. His beautiful blue eyes were filled with so many emotions, it was difficult to pinpoint all of them. All he was sure of was that there was love, but there was also betrayal, despair, and horror filling such brilliant orbs._

_ "I love you, Dad," the boy all but whispered as he looked up, a saddened smile coming to his face. As he spoke, a trail of blood seeped out of the corner of his mouth, revealing the extent of his injuries went far beyond that of his midsection._

_ Gasping, he shook his head, trying to rid himself of such a horrible image, but could not escape the sound of the boy's haggard breathing, the horrible gasps and wheezes in attempts to get air into his damaged lungs. Looking down, he found himself looking down at a pair of hands that he somehow knew were his own, though they held no similarities to those digits he remembered. Long and spindly, they were capped with dark claws, but what made him step backwards was the color that filled his vision. Red. The shade was a vibrant, perhaps even beautiful, one he would have appreciated in any other circumstance, but he knew that it was the same color that created rivulets down his son's fingers, staining clothing as it ebbed from his body._

_ More out of surprise than anything else, he jerked his hands backwards. Hearing something hit the ground, he somehow did not have to look at the object to know that a weapon had fallen from his hands and that, much like his hands, that blade was coated in a color that made his stomach turn._

_ Looking back to the boy, he could see in those blue eyes the reason behind his stained hands. There was no other explanation, but the knowledge made him shake his head in disbelief. Traitorously, the memories flooded into him. A dodge here, a quick swipe there – all done with a violence he never knew he possessed. Coming in contact with flesh, he had smiled. Each gasp of pain and surprise had been met with a chuckle. Stepping backwards, unable to do anything else, his eyes searched around him, but his vision told him what he was afraid to believe._

_ There, in the exact place he could recall hitting someone with a powerful water jutsu, lay a friend, cradling a shockingly bright head of red hair. A deep gash had left one of the boy's arms useless, but his remaining hand was firmly pressed against the other teen's neck, desperately searching for a pulse. His fingers trembled, however, not entirely from emotion, but also because of the dark mark quickly spreading across his left breast. If the unnatural paleness of his skin was any indicator, he did not have long left._

_ Without thought, he poured healing energy into the three teens, working quickly to mend the worst of their injuries. When he was finally drained of green-tinged chakra, he let out a sigh of relief. They would all survive with some medical attention. _

_Sensing a change in the air, he turned and found himself staring into a pair of mismatched orbs – one black, the other crimson – that were filled with such emotion that he momentarily did not recognize those eyes._

_ As soon as knowledge of the man's identity hit him, he felt a whole host of different emotions come over him. This time, it was neither fear nor surprise. No, he recalled these sensations – these were the ones that he had gladly escaped before. Betrayal and hatred he felt in abundance, but there was something that tore at his heart far worse than the darkest emotion he could possibly conjure – love for the man._

--

Naruto blinked several times, his vision becoming hazy despite his best attempts to keep himself clear-headed. In his last moments of consciousness, he looked up to the creature his father turned into and saw something that nearly stopped his heart.

The pale hair was gone, returned to a deep chestnut that Naruto never would have thought he would have been so happy to see. Those long, terrible claws had receded along with the pearly fangs. Now the being standing before him, his body turned slightly so that Naruto could just see his profile, was no longer the monster the blonde felt slight fear towards.

For a moment, soft brown eyes flickered over to him, catching his gaze for such a brief instant, Naruto was not sure if he had imagined it or not. He would have passed it up to his deliriousness due to pain and blood loss, but Naruto swore that those eyes held such a multitude of emotions, the blonde cried out in empathy. No one should ever have to feel the kind of sorrow that was visible in those gentle eyes.

Naruto opened his mouth, desperately trying to speak – to find out if the man was real or just his imagination – but he never got that chance. His vision began darkening as he felt his body begin to involuntarily plummet towards the ground. In his last moment of consciousness, he heard something that, despite the pain that word was laced with, made him smile.

"_Kakashi_…"

--

The jounin blinked as he heard his name, the syllables breaking with barely contained emotion. Though it was no more than that one word, it made him take a step towards the brunet, his mind hardly even registering the physical changes that had turned the being before him back into the man he had fallen in love with.

The only thing he was aware of at that moment was the young man looking at him with such betrayal and pain in his features that Kakashi was forced to step backwards as he slowly came to understand that he was the cause of those emotions. That realization – that he had caused so much pain for the one person he cared for most – hurt far more than he had ever thought possible.

A part of Kakashi wanted to rebel against such an unfamiliar sense of guilt. He was not the one hiding a girlfriend when they had spent the night together – he was not the one getting married to said woman. He may have been in the wrong, but that did not excuse Iruka from his own transgressions.

Almost as soon as his traitorous mind thought of such things, Kakashi berated himself. The pain in Iruka's face was real – the betrayal, the sorrow…those things were destroying the brunet as well as, or perhaps even better than, any blade could.

"Iruka…I…" Kakashi started out, unable to think of a way to explain himself. Should he apologize for what he had done, though he had already poured his heart out to the young man when he had been certain he had killed the kind-hearted teacher? Or would it be more appropriate to go to him and hold him? How would Iruka react if he got down on his knees and begged for the man to change his mind – to somehow find it in his compassionate nature to take him back and give him – _them_ – a second chance?

That small part of his mind that he tried his best to ignore also had to wonder what Iruka would do if he simply left. How would Iruka take it if he did not explain himself? Should he wait until Iruka first apologized for nearly killing so many in an angry fit? What if he refused to speak to the man until the teacher fully explained himself – the demonic chakra, the drastic changes in his features?

Looking at the brunet, Kakashi still felt a wave of unfamiliar emotions hit him. Of all the emotions, there were two prevalent ones that he could not ignore as he watched the teacher study him in turn. Love for Iruka tightened his chest painfully. Never before had he become so close to someone, he worried about their opinion of him, but he now wished the teacher would – could – return the emotion.

The other sensation that wracked through his body was one that made Kakashi grimace. Distrust. No matter how much he cared for the teacher, he could not shake the suspicion he felt as he studied the man. No one – no human – should have that dark chakra coursing through their veins and still look so normal. No person should be able to slowly step forward with a grace that was inhuman. No mortal should be able to trick his Sharingan, to control water, to master demonic chakra…these were things the loyal shinobi could not deny.

The only question he could ask himself was how he could love someone when he obviously knew nothing about him – about who and what he was, what he had done to become the being he had transformed into for a short while?

--

Iruka watched the emotions flicker in Kakashi's natural eye, recognizing all of them as he felt similar emotions raging through him. The betrayal was still a raw wound that ached as he tried to think of some plausible reason Kakashi could have for doing everything he had done.

Not only was it Kakashi's actions that made Iruka suck in a sharp breath as he recalled those many months he had forgotten for so long. How could he have forgotten that Kakashi was the one who was always hanging around his apartment, who waited for him to get off of work to walk him home? How did he not recall their long discussions that gave him an insight into the man Kakashi was – the person his harsh lifestyle had turned him into?

He had forgotten that Kakashi had cute dimples, that he was unbelievably handsome, and that he loved to smile and laugh when they were alone. He had even forgotten their first kiss – and their one night together. No matter what Mizutamari Mari did to his memories, it did not make up for Kakashi leaving him to run off to Suna without so much as another word to him. Did Kakashi find him that revolting that he had to escape to another entire Hidden Village? That was the only reason Iruka could come up with that would explain his actions.

Stepping backwards, distancing himself from the jounin, Iruka studied Kakashi, keeping his eyes away from the jounin's face. He knew that if he looked into his eyes too long, he would find his resolve – his anger and betrayal – weaken because of his love for the man. No, he had ever right to be furious with Kakashi for what he had done.

Seeing the jounin's body weave slightly, Iruka realized that it was sheer stubbornness that kept him standing. Leaning onto one leg so much that he had no weight on the other, Kakashi could hardly keep his balance, but he still stood there, an arm cradled around his middle while the other hung limply against his side.

It did not take more than a moment for Iruka to list the jounin's numerous injuries. One femur had been snapped, which explained why he refused to put weight on it other than the briefest of moments as he stepped backwards. His other leg was crisscrossed in deep lacerations, as was his torso. The arm that hung lifelessly had been dislocated. He had a heavily bleeding injury that stretched from his temple to the back of his head, a cracked skull, and a broken nose. From the discoloration of his face, a cheekbone was shattered, along with portions of his jaw.

It was a miracle Kakashi had been able to say his name. Then again, it was beyond belief the jounin was still alive and conscious, much less standing there looking at Iruka with such a myriad of emotions, the teacher was floored. This was not the same man he had known over a year ago. This jounin was more in-tune with his emotions – with himself. Of course, his understanding of his emotions made them all the more readable as Iruka studied him and found himself recognizing one emotion above all.

Distrust.

Iruka stepped backwards as he recognized that emotion. A year and Kakashi could still not bring himself to simply trust Iruka when he said that he was not a danger to anyone. Glancing over at his teammates – to his son – momentarily, he felt tears prick at his eyes. No, he was far from being harmless. Taking a shaky breath, he realized that Kakashi had every reason to be suspicious of him.

Though Kakashi was right in being wary, it still hurt to know that the jounin thought so little of their one-time close relationship that he now could not even bring himself to entertain the possibility that Iruka was a loyal shinobi who would not consciously harm anyone.

That emotional pain seeped into him slowly, not blindsiding him as those flashes of memories had earlier. He had been forced to remember Kakashi so quickly, he had no time to grasp what had happened, much less to realize his own emotions. No, he had been a coward and escaped into himself, knowing full well what could happen.

The same temptation dangled in front of him now, but Iruka knew better. He had seen what that dark side of himself could do when he was hiding from his emotions and the world around him. To live without any pain and sadness was a luxury Iruka could never afford if he did not want to turn into the monster Kakashi believed him to be.

Before Iruka fully realized what he was doing, he turned and ran, seeping into the ground and transporting himself far from the arena. He would not hide inside himself again – it was too dangerous for anyone around him. No, he would do anything to keep himself from losing himself like that again. This time, all he could do was run from the man who had caused him such pain that he was not sure where he was running to; he only knew that it was away from the man who had broken his heart.

--

Authoress: Thank you guys so much for reading! I hope you all stick around for the final chapter!! So, until next time, ja ne!


	9. Much Needed Lessons of the Heart

Authoress; YOSH! Over three years of writing, and we have finally come to this point! //tears prick at eyes// //sniffles// I can't believe it…the final chapter (well, not counting the epilogue)…I have dreamed about this day for so long, but now that it's here…I don't know if I'm ready yet to finish this story just yet…so please don't think this is the end to Kakashi and Iruka's story. No, this is just the beginning…so, please, enjoy the final chapter of the Scars Series! And a gigantic thanks goes to B.Z.-chan for betaing this chapter!!

Disclaimer: //sniffles// I wish I owned Naruto!

**Chapter Eight**

"You humans have completely lost your minds!"

It was that exclamation that wrenched Kakashi out of his blissfully dreamless state. Cracking open his right eye, he glanced around for the source of such an achingly familiar voice, tinged with its customary aggravated tone. Hearing that voice caused a weight to settle on his already pain-filled chest, and he hissed softly at the twinge of agony.

"Would you lower your voice?! This is a hospital!" Well, that explained the soft beeping sound and the overall sanitized scent surrounding him. The screaming woman also explained a lot. Sometimes Tsunade didn't know how well her voice carried – or that she was the worst of hypocrites. Kakashi closed his natural eye, pressing his head back into the pillow and trying desperately to fall back to sleep, but slumber eluded him.

With his eyes closed, Kakashi was able to focus on each of the aches and pains that wracked his body with each breath he took. The worst physical pain was one that encompassed his entire head, and he recalled the several powerful hits to his face and temples. Undoubtedly, he had cracked his skull, which would explain his current migraine, and probably broke his nose.

The second worst pain was in his leg. His left thigh throbbed in burning agony, but it also felt strangely heavy. Daring to move, he touched his leg and immediately came in contact with something solid that covered his entire upper leg. Having never broken a limb before, Kakashi was momentarily fascinated by the feel of the cast holding his leg in proper alignment.

There were other injuries too, though they were considerably less important than the blows to his head and leg. Scratches and lacerations coated his entire body and, from the tight, pulling feeling in his flesh, there had to be a staggering number of dark stitches holding him together.

Taking a slow, deep breath, he felt his ribs protest, but he could also feel the thick layers of gauze wrapped around his middle, precariously holding those bones in place. There was only one way to describe the overall pain he felt – it was like he had been run over. Never before, no matter how difficult or unsuccessful his mission, he had never been in such all-encompassing pain. At that moment, Kakashi would have done anything to have that pain limited to being physical.

He, ignoring the cries of pain his body let out, moved with sloth-like speed in order to prop himself up in a sitting position against the thick pillows behind him. Though slightly more painful than laying down, he felt infinitely better being able to look around at his surroundings. Almost immediately, his natural eye focused on the small redhead curled up in the chair, mere inches away from his bedside.

The dark marks under Gaara's eyes were far more pronounced than Kakashi had ever seen before and, instantly, he felt a renewed wave of self-recrimination wash over him. He never wanted the boy to worry about him to such a degree that the insomniac slept even less than he normally did. Kakashi did have to smile however, when he realized the boy was most definitely unconscious. There was no other way the small Kazekage would ever allow his body to snuggle around the pillow someone had been kind enough to tuck against his head.

Almost as though he knew Kakashi was finally awake, Gaara's eyes fluttered open and the village leader silently stared at him, until he found himself conscious enough to understand that the silver-haired man was looking at him with a crooked smirk on his once handsome face. Gaara cared deeply for him, but he wouldn't sugar-coat matters – right now, there was very little left of the good-looking man Kakashi had once been.

His nose had been broken, but that was an easy enough fix, and the resulting black eyes would heal on their own given time. The entire left side of Kakashi's face, however, had been rearranged to the point where Gaara winced in empathy. He doubted Kakashi yet realized that an entire half of his face was heavily bandaged, hiding the deformation.

Everything had moved by so quickly, it was all a blur to Gaara. He just remembered nodding his head numbly, as Tsunade explained why Kakashi had needed a series of four surgeries. Something about the broken bones in his cheek and temple putting pressure on his left eye and brain, then there were metal plates and other things that Gaara didn't care to ponder now. All he could remember was catching a glimpse of Kakashi's face when the nurses were changing the bandages.

Discoloration, swelling, but most of all the long, deep cuts covering his once near-perfect skin, was what made Gaara wonder how Kakashi would take his new facial scars. They had been expertly stitched, but would still most certainly scar heavily. Tsunade had been far more worried about Kakashi's life than his looks. She actually said she was thankful he already was accustomed to covering that half of his face. That statement had made Gaara cringe in pity for his friend.

"Maa, that bad?" Kakashi asked jokingly, as he watched the emotions flicker across Gaara's green eyes. The boy couldn't meet Kakashi's one-eyed gaze, which made him wonder what the full extent of his injuries were.

"Half of your face…" Gaara mumbled dryly, unable to explain to the man why he refused to look up from his hands. How could he tell Kakashi that, if he looked him in the eye, he would more than likely break down crying? He had been so worried, that he had refused to feel any emotion until now. He wouldn't have been able to go through each day, had he had to deal with the concern, the fear, the remorse, but most of all the loneliness. Those emotions now, however, flooded him as he simply listened to Kakashi's slightly uneven breathing, his young ears straining to hear that familiar voice.

"How is everyone else?" Kakashi questioned softly, surprising the Kazekage so much that Gaara looked up at him, and he immediately saw the watery eyes. "Gaara…" Kakashi didn't put out his arms – he didn't have the chance. Without warning, the small boy flew against his chest, though somehow still mindful of Kakashi's numerous injuries, and simply clung to the thin hospital gown as sobs wracked his tiny frame.

Seeing Gaara's reaction, a cold weight settled in Kakashi's gut as he assumed the worst – it was the only thing he could think of that could get Gaara to show such unchecked emotion. Someone must have died. "Who?" Kakashi barely got out, as he ignored the twinge of pain in one shoulder and wrapped his arms around the boy.

Gaara didn't seem to hear him. The redhead simply clung to him, inhaling Kakashi's unique scent like an addict. He had never thought he would have been so relieved to simply just smell his friend. The deep voice that filled his ears was just another reward in Gaara's mind.

"What happened, Gaara?" Kakashi asked seriously as he dropped his head to rest his chin on the mop of cherry red hair. The boy, finally realizing that he was being asked a question, slowly pulled away as he hastily wiped any moisture from his face.

"You passed out after he left… you've been out for three weeks," Gaara said softly, as he forced himself to look up into the visible half of Kakashi's face. "You were injured badly. They performed eight… no, nine surgeries to fix everything, but Tsunade said that with your head injuries, there was a chance you might not wake up.

"You nearly died twice. Once, before we could even get you out of the arena, and the other during one of the surgeries…" Gaara whispered. Taking a deep breath, the boy continued, "Tsunade, Naruto, Kankuro and I have been swapping vigils."

Kakashi unconsciously let out a sigh of relief as he realized that Gaara's comment meant that the blonde idiot was still alive and well. What surprised him wasn't just the close tie he felt towards the loud teenager, but that he was happy for someone else's sake entirely. Harming Naruto would have killed Iruka far faster and more painfully than any blade could ever possibly hope to. "Shikamaru and Neji?" Kakashi dared to ask as he closed his natural eye, his mind already slowly piecing together a story that his heart didn't want to believe. There were few things that he thought could get Gaara to break down and cry… and the death of his lover was most certainly one of them.

"Fine," Gaara replied questioningly as he looked at Kakashi curiously. At his monosyllable statement, Kakashi's eye snapped back open and he stared at the boy curiously. "Everyone is fine… but you.

"As far as Tsunade and Mizutamari Mari can figure, Iruka healed everyone injured, other than you, before he bolted," Gaara finished as he glanced down at his hands, remembering that warm energy coursing through him, warming his near-dead body back to life. He knew better than to tell Kakashi that he had, in fact, been the closest to death after the demon had crushed his chest, destroying his heart and lungs. Had it not been for that same being, he would have most certainly died in Neji's arms.

"Who?" Kakashi asked softly, trying to recall anyone by such a name, but it rang no bells for him. Studying the redhead for a moment, Kakashi saw the boy's widening eyes as he realized what Kakashi was asking.

"Me, you ungrateful mortal." A familiar voice came from the other side of the room, making Kakashi lose the ability to breathe. His head swiveled around and, for a moment, he deeply regretted moving so quickly. His vision fazed in and out for a moment, before he was able to focus on the man stepping into the room. As their eyes met, Kakashi couldn't help but wonder if the being before him was some kind of hallucination brought on by severe head trauma.

His arms were folded across his chest, a sure sign of annoyance, as he purposely strode into the small room. Though his features, from the brown hair and chocolate eyes, to the mysterious scar across the bridge of his nose, were painfully familiar, none of it made Kakashi feel any connection to the brunet walking towards him. If anything, he felt a wave of confusion as he tried to figure out why he felt nothing towards the brunet.

Kakashi felt a smile tug at the corners of his lips as he slowly came to realize who the man now staring down at him was. "I met you… You were the one fascinated with how you could trick my Sharingan…" It was that same cocky bastard he had met briefly over a year ago; he knew it. From the flicker of amusement in those cool eyes, he was right.

"I am shocked you remember me," he retorted with a pointed glance. "But I guess I should still properly introduce myself." Stepping backwards, the demon bowed slightly. "Mizutamari Mari. Guardian and mentor of the Umino clan."

"What are you?" Kakashi asked directly as his gaze narrowed. He wasn't going to let this fount of information get away before he could demand some answers. He owed it to himself and to the man he, against all odds, had fallen in love with.

"A kappa," the demon stated easily, as though it was the most common of answers. Sliding into a chair on the other side of the bed, so that Kakashi wouldn't have to crane his head to see the brunet, he continued, "I was tricked into serving the Umino clan generations ago. Since then, I have trained countless Umino to channel my chakra to protect themselves and those they cared for."

"Channel chakra?" Kakashi repeated, slowly applying the demon's candid answers to his pitifully small amount of knowledge when it came to Iruka. He didn't want to admit it, but the truth was glaringly, painfully obvious. He knew nothing about Iruka. Yet, even with his lack of knowledge, he cared more for that secretive teacher than anyone else he knew. "Then Iruka isn't a demon?" He had to ask the question, no matter how ridiculous it seemed, now that he was facing a true demon. That one piece of information was something that had caused so many problems between him and Iruka that he had to hear the answer from someone else.

"He was able to use demonic chakra, but he was most certainly human," Mizutamari Mari replied truthfully. "He was the only one of his clan who could fully control my chakra. By fourteen, he had mastered everything I could teach him, so we became equals. Not even his father, my greatest pupil, was able to come close to such a thing. Iruka was a progeny… but no one knew about his abilities because he knew how people would view him if they knew.

"Naruto was the only person Iruka ever trusted enough to explain who I was... what he was… but Naruto would have accepted him no matter what – Iruka was his only family," Mizutamari Mari finished as he closed his eyes. He and Tsunade had agreed, along with Naruto, that it would be best to explain everything to Kakashi. Perhaps the man would be able to do what none of them could accomplish, if he understood why his mistrust of Iruka had hurt the man so much.

"What was that thing during the exams?" Kakashi asked as he recalled the change in Iruka's features, the evilness that came to his eyes. The teacher he knew would never be able to accomplish such violence, no matter how angry he was.

"When Iruka started to use demonic chakra, he did something no one else in his family had ever thought to do. He, in essence, split himself into two, mentally speaking. He explained it to me once by saying it was something like a large room, divided in half by a large gate. On one side was his humanity; the other… the dark side, that was created by using demonic chakra for so long. He said he separated them so that he could make that gate. It was only to swing one way – so that his humanity always had control over the dark half.

"They were both Iruka, just different sides of him. When training with him, there was only one time that the darker half got control… the final exam was the second time. Both times, Iruka let that side come out. He voluntarily chose to lose his humanity."

Those words, spoken slowly and with a plethora of emotion, forced a cold shiver down the Kakashi's back as he started to grasp Iruka's side of things. Who the teacher was forced to be in public – the man he had to pretend to be in order to be accepted – was just one side of him. Having seen the real Iruka on occasion, not only the violent side, but the trickster, the one who could laugh so easily, the one who challenged him on all levels – that was the person that Kakashi had been fascinated with. As he thought about it for a moment, he realized it was that Iruka his feelings were directed towards. And it was that side – the real Iruka – that he had rejected, without ever once giving Iruka a chance to explain. The teacher was right to despise him.

"From what Naruto has told me, Iruka did something I never thought possible for him. His humanity returned, though he was still using vast amounts of demonic chakra. The other time the dark side emerged… it took chakra depletion and near death for Iruka's humanity to return," Mizutamari Mari ended as he looked down at his hands, letting out a sigh.

Kakashi furrowed his eyebrows as he slowly digested what the demon was telling him. As otherworldly and impossible as it all sounded, it made a strange amount of sense when he thought back on all his interactions with Iruka. That kindhearted man, no matter what else, obviously had another side to him that he did everything in his power to hide. That side generally came out in angry fits over poorly written mission reports, but Kakashi wished he had realized that, even then, Iruka was still in full control of himself. He was telling the complete truth when he said he was never a danger to anyone.

Looking up to the demon that was physically identical to Iruka, Kakashi took a deep breath. Though there was only truth in those eyes, Kakashi somehow knew he was still keeping something from him. "So he's back to normal?" Kakashi asked softly as he studied the minute changes in the demon's features that, in an almost mocking display of Iruka's, were so easy to read, Kakashi was able to catch the hesitation that showed in his brown eyes for a split second.

"I don't know…" Mizutamari Mari trailed off as he looked away from Kakashi, not sure how to continue. If he was a more physical person, he would have kissed the little redhead who, having been otherwise silent until this point, picked up where he left off.

"No one has seen Iruka since he bolted at the end of the exams," Gaara said quietly as he turned to look out the window. The demon within him, for the past three weeks, was actually behaving civilly and talking to him, explaining why the demon on the other side of the bed looked so positively tired when, according to demonic logic, exhaustion was a near impossibility for them. "Mizutamari Mari has been tracking him for the past three weeks, but Iruka keeps moving and masking his chakra. It's impossible to find him unless he wants to be discovered."

"The brat learned how to best evade demons, from me… I never thought I would regret teaching him how to hide his tracks so well," Mizutamari Mari added as he brought a human hand up to rub his aching shoulder. It was a small drain on his energy to keep this form, but he had to admit that human aches and pains were horrible. It was no wonder humans were always in a constant state of war, when they had to feel so horrendous every day of their pathetically short lives. He would be cranky too. He kept Iruka's form, however, so that he could walk around the village like a normal human. "Last time I nearly caught up with him, he was at the South Pole… blasted cold place…"

"Shukaku said that with every minute, he is going to get harder and harder to find," Gaara stated, though not even the redhead was sure for whose benefit that statement was. "He didn't explain it fully, but he said something about going 'wild'."

"Oh, he would know about that, the idiot," Mizutamari Mari replied with a snort. In response, the demon in the Kazekage roared angrily. Kakashi just glanced between the two, wondering what exactly was going on. "Shukaku went wild long before he was trapped by humans… It's why he's such a brute now."

Kakashi had to bite his tongue to keep from pointing out that all demons were brutes. He kept silent, however, when he realized that the demon parading around as Iruka had been nothing but helpful thus far, so he had no right to offend the creature. The silver-haired man smiled sadly as he realized that it was Iruka who made him actually think before acting – and to take other people's emotions into consideration when doing so.

Almost as though Mizutamari Mari heard his thoughts, the demon let out a chuckle. "You humans have only encountered wild demons, so it's no wonder you think all of us are evil monsters. The rest of us aren't bad to be around, though I wouldn't say we are kind…

"Demons are actually quite social creatures – we have to be. If we aren't around others for long periods of time, we go 'wild'… it is a horrible experience. Our bodies change, and we become more animalistic. Depending on how long you are away from others, you might lose the ability to speak, to reason, to think."

"What does that have to do with Iruka?" Kakashi asked snappishly, his migraine coming back in full force as he tried to think of the possibility that not all demons were monsters. It went against every fiber of his being, but there was something in himself that hungered to find a loophole in his black and white view of the world. He desperately needed something that would prove that Iruka, despite all of his unique and inhuman abilities, was a good, loyal person who deserved his trust.

"He is just as much a demon as us – he just happens to be in a human body. He is much like demon containers, though he has found a way to use demonic chakra that does not tear him to pieces," Mizutamari Mari replied, unfazed by Kakashi's rudeness. "There is every possibility he is like us, in more areas than I thought possible. The fact I cannot track him at all anymore… that I cannot sense him… might mean that he has already begun turning wild. There is nothing left of who he was – he is now more animal than human or demon."

"How long does he have before it's permanent?" Gaara asked quietly after conversing with Shukaku for a moment. His eyes were focused on the foot of the bed, but he could still feel Kakashi's eye burning into the back of his head.

"Permanent?" Kakashi mouthed, his word coming out as no more than an exhalation of air. He turned to look at the demon and found a contemplative expression on that familiar face.

"I cannot last more than a week without others… It took only two weeks for Shukaku's change to become permanent… Iruka isn't a true demon, however, so I cannot say whether or not he can ever return," Mizutamari Mari replied softly as he looked down at his hands. "He does not even come at Naruto's call… It may already be too late."

"Can I do anything?" Kakashi questioned as he tried to ignore the ache in his chest. He was the cause of all of this – if the world was in any way fair, he should have some chance of bringing Iruka back.

"He would probably kill you if he ever saw you," Mizutamari Mari said without pause. Naruto was, for once in his life, right – Kakashi was an idiot if he thought he had a chance of bringing Iruka back, and living through the experience. The words out of Kakashi's mouth, however, made him freeze.

"I know that."

"You would risk your life for Iruka?" Mizutamari Mari asked in fascination. Up until three weeks ago, he had hated this man, but having seen the kind of pain he had gone through – the kind of injuries he had to suffer – because of Iruka, that hatred had dissipated. Now he felt a respect for the man. No matter who he talked to, they said the same thing. Kakashi had refused to lay a hand on Iruka in the exam. The brunet had not a single scratch on him because of the Copy Nin. It showed that Kakashi believed he deserved the beating he received. No matter how much he hated the man's choices and actions in the past, he had also heard of Kakashi's reasoning for acting as he had.

For the past three weeks, Konoha had been abuzz with the story of Kakashi's heart-wrenching confession of love. No matter how illogical and stupid his actions were, everything Kakashi had done was out of love for Iruka. Mizutamari Mari could only hope that that love might be enough to find Iruka and bring him back.

"I would do anything for him," Kakashi replied truthfully as he looked directly into the demon's eyes. "But if you cannot find him, how can I?"

"I don't know," Mizutamari Mari answered as he studied Kakashi's visible eye for some hesitation, but found none. Against all odds, he felt a number of very human emotions prick his eyes as he thought of how badly he had misjudged this man. Kakashi would die to save Iruka. The kappa could only hope it didn't come down to that.

--

"You shouldn't be out of the hospital yet!" Kakashi winced at that voice, glancing back to see the blonde running towards him. Putting more weight on the cane – the one thing he had finally broken down and agreed to use, after arguing with Tsunade for two days – Kakashi turned slightly and waited for the boy to catch up with him.

"Maa… a new Icha Icha book is out," he stated jokingly as he resumed his hobbling walk down the silent street. The lack of noise was not due to an absence of people. The crowded streets were packed with people, but they had all fallen silent when they saw him walk by. They openly gawked, unable to do much else. Kakashi was slightly disturbed to see a surprisingly large number of women burst into soundless tears as he passed.

Gaara had told him he had somehow been turned into the village's romantic hero, but he hadn't believed the redhead until now. The looks he was receiving were actually quite disconcerting, so he picked up his uneven pace, to move as quickly through the sea of wide-eyed people as he could manage.

Naruto was thankfully silent until they were out of the crowded section of the village, not speaking until they started on the well-worn path towards the training grounds. "Gaara told me Mari got you to agree to help find Iruka," the boy started out, as he easily fell in step with Kakashi's uneven gait. Studying Kakashi for a moment, he wondered if the man realized he had dressed in his Konoha uniform, despite the fact there was little chance the weapons strapped to him would come in handy, when he was as wounded as he was. Glancing down at his old teacher's injured leg, he couldn't help but wonder if his limp would be permanent. Every time he asked Tsunade about Kakashi's injuries, a misty look came over her and she said that it was something he should discuss with Kakashi himself. That statement was almost as good as an outright statement, telling the teen that Kakashi would never fully heal. "I think I know how you can find him."

"How?" Kakashi asked as he turned to look at Naruto. Seeing the boy's hands fumble with something around his neck, he raised an eyebrow. His confusion only increased when he saw Naruto finally pull a small vial out from under his vibrant shirt that was attached to a small silver chain. Removing the odd necklace, the boy handed the glass bottle over.

"This… you can use it to call Iruka to you," Naruto replied as he gestured to the small vial, that seemed pitifully tiny in Kakashi's large hand. "Iruka gave it to me before I left on my journey with Jiraiya. A drop in water would bring him to me in a matter of seconds. I didn't tell Mari or anyone else, that the more I use, the stronger the call is. One drop isn't enough anymore. I was tempted to dump the whole thing to see if it would be strong enough to make Iruka return, but you should be the one to do it… you're the one who has to bring him back."

"What is it?" Kakashi questioned, shaking the colored vial gently. The dark liquid inside moved slowly, revealing it was thicker than water, but there was something about its color that was quite off-putting.

"His blood," Naruto answered softly. Kakashi jerked back slightly at his words, nearly dropping the precious bottle. Had it not been for the chain, which had gotten caught around his wrist, the vial would have shattered on the ground.

"Why do I have to be the one?" Kakashi asked as he moved to cradle the small bottle in the palm of his hand. He agreed wholeheartedly with the blonde, but he couldn't help but be curious of what Naruto's reasoning, for sending him on a suicidal mission, was.

"It won't mean anything if I can calm him down and bring him home. If he sees you, he will just go back to that dark place… I won't let him live every day wondering when you two would bump into each other, and his heart would have to be broken all over again," Naruto replied sagely as he nodded his head.

"I broke his heart?" Kakashi snorted incredulously. The look he received from the blonde gave him pause, however. There was something pitying in those eyes, and Kakashi couldn't help but feel like Naruto, at the moment, was far wiser than he could ever hope to be.

"I would talk to him about that if I were you," was Naruto's only response as he turned around, only giving him one reassuring pat on the shoulder, before leaving him alone to look up at the small pond Naruto had somehow navigated them towards, without Kakashi realizing it.

Kakashi glanced down at the small vial in his hands. Could it possibly be that simple to bring Iruka back? He closed his eyes as he wrapped his fingers around the warm glass and squeezed gently. It was one thing to make Iruka show himself, it was another thing entirely if he could get the man to return to who he was. Perhaps, if he was lucky, he would get a chance to talk to the real Iruka – the compassionate man he had lost his heart to a long time ago – before he died at his hands.

With that thought, he pulled the small cork from the bottle and threw the entire bottle, and its contents, into the shallow pond. For a moment, Kakashi felt a twinge of disgust when he saw how pitifully close the bottle had landed to him. Mere weeks ago, he could have cleared the pond with ease, but now? No, now the strength from his entire body was gone. It was a battle of sheer will and determination to lift his arms, much less move his legs in the uneven gait he was forced to adopt. Perhaps what was even worse than the weakness of his body was the vulnerability that went along with it. He could never remember a time when he wasn't physically stronger than nearly every person he encountered. He wouldn't admit it to anyone – not even Gaara – but that feeling of powerlessness frightened him. For the first time, he was just as fragile as the people he had sworn to protect with his very life. His jutsu, his speed, his strength… everything that had separated him from a normal citizen was gone, and it left a painful, gaping hole that forced Kakashi to realize how much he depended on his life as a shinobi.

Letting out a hiss of air, he watched the rippling water curiously, waiting for something – anything – to occur. The strong waves of water broke the scenic image on the water's surface, creating concentric circles that lazily made their way outwards, stretching towards the shore he stood on. But nothing happened as the water slowly calmed to the tranquil, reflective sheet it had been.

Kakashi chuckled dryly at the irony of it all. Everyone had believed he could bring Iruka back because of his feelings for the man, but what about Iruka? Theirs most certainly wasn't a love that stories were made of – no, Kakashi's pitiful feelings for the brunet were unrequited. Biting his lip, the silver-haired man knew why Jiraiya had never written a love story that could compare to his relationship with Iruka. No one would want to read a tale that didn't have a happy ending. Who would want to read about a man who lost everything for love? No one would want to know how painful love could be – how it could take away everything, but give nothing in return. His heart, his position, his entire being – Kakashi had lost it all for a man he, admittedly, didn't even know.

He took a slow step backwards as he watched the smooth surface of water, its calmness mocking him and his inability to express his emotions. No matter how many times his friends told him he had to work on being more human, Kakashi had brushed them off, calling them idiots. What he wouldn't give to have realized a year ago that they were right! Perhaps if he had told Iruka his feelings for him when it would have mattered, he would have reason to hope of one day having those emotions returned. He knew that things would have been much different, had he had the courage to tell Iruka back when it would have made a difference. Now, looking out at the pond, he wasn't sure he would even get the chance to see Iruka again, much less beg the young man for forgiveness.

Inwardly cursing his ill fate, Kakashi snarled as he hurled his cane into the pond, but the short distance it traveled mocked him as much as the twinge of pain that ran up his arm at the quick movement. That smooth wood represented far too much for Kakashi; it was a symbol of his mistakes, his stupidity. Tsunade's diagnosis – a permanent limp – was one he couldn't fully accept. Such a handicap would have made him incapable of returning to the only life he ever knew, but he would have been able to take a comfortable position that kept him permanently in the village, or he could remain a diplomat, but with his other injuries? No, his other losses were too great for even Tsunade to fight for his position. The missing weight of metal stretching across his face, simply reminded him of that fact. His pride and sense of duty forced him to keep living when he lost everyone he had ever cared for, but now? And now that even that was waning, what else would be left for him except the cold, lonely bitterness of his many mistakes?

He would never be able to feel a moment of anger towards the brunet for injuring him – he had deserved every bruise and break that Iruka had inflicted on him. No, he could only blame himself for his destroyed leg and mangled face. Turning before the stick even hit the water, Kakashi began to move away from the pond with his uneven, painful gait, but he froze when he heard a distinct noise come from behind him.

Kakashi, for the briefest of moments, was hesitant to turn back around when the sound of soft bubbling hit his ears. His body moved of its own accord, however, as he shifted to look back at the small pond. No longer was the water's surface calm; it now rippled angrily as a dark figure slowly emerged.

Unable to do anything else, Kakashi took an awkward step backwards, stumbling as pain shot up his leg and into his spine. Hissing as he quickly shifted his weight off of his broken leg, he took a moment to inwardly curse before looking back up at the pond.

As soon as his eyes focused on the creature appearing from beneath the dark surface, Kakashi's breath caught in his throat. Though still mostly in the water, enough of that bronzed skin was visible for Kakashi's body to warm in response. Tightening his jaw as he tried to will away such traitorous feelings, Kakashi allowed his natural eye to travel across the broad expanses of perfectly sculpted muscle that glistened with moisture.

Kakashi couldn't see his face due to the fact his back was to him. Instead, he was able to see the relaxed posture of those powerful shoulders. It was a feature he had never before thought to attribute to the impossibly high-strung brunet. No matter what he was doing, he always had a tenseness that no amount of ramen or good conversation could ever ease away and, now knowing the cause for such unease, Kakashi wished he had tried a little harder to get to know the real man that hid beneath the steely façade everyone else so easily accepted. At least then, now wouldn't have been the first time since meeting him that Kakashi could see he was completely at ease.

As the dark-haired man turned so Kakashi could see his profile, Kakashi found himself losing the ability to breathe, while simultaneously realizing that Mizutamari Mari and everyone else was wrong. Before him wasn't a wild creature, but a calm person who apparently had yet to notice Kakashi's presence. He wasn't sure how that serenity would change once he realized who was standing behind him – that it was Kakashi who summoned him.

"I'm not going to attack you, Kakashi." Kakashi froze at those words, or more specifically that voice. It was a voice whose familiarity made Kakashi's chest ache, but at the same time, the tone made the man shiver. It held a level of sadness, of desperation, that no one should ever have to experience, least of all the kindhearted man it came from.

"Iruka… I-" Kakashi fell silent as the young man turned fully around. As he turned, he revealed a face that was painfully beautiful, but at the same time, grief was etched into his features, erasing the once deep laugh lines that Kakashi had loved to see.

"Please don't," Iruka quickly said as he turned fully around. What Kakashi could see of the brunet's body tightened as chocolate eyes landed on him. "Go back to the village and forget you saw me."

Kakashi could do nothing but stare at the brunet in a mixture of awe and guilt. Had it really been well over a year since the first time he and Iruka had argued over Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, thus beginning their twisted friendship? Over a year since Iruka, against all odds, had reawakened a part of Kakashi that he had thought he had lost with the death of Obito.

He had made Kakashi feel emotions that the silver-haired man thought he was incapable of. It had been so long since he had truly _laughed_ that it was like he had found humor for the first time when he was with the quick-witted teacher. It was the brunet who had treated him like a person and not the enigma the rest of the village saw him as. He challenged Kakashi, he annoyed him, he grated against his every nerve, but, most of all, Iruka made him realize he was imperfect like anyone else. Iruka made him human.

Unable to do much else, Kakashi found himself hobbling forwards, wincing with each movement. It wasn't until he could feel the cold water lap against his sandaled feet that he finally stopped. "Iruka…" He whispered, as he looked across the water towards the brunet who refused to move from the center of the pond.

"Just…" Iruka started, as he brought a hand up to rake through his hair. Following that dripping hand with his eye, Kakashi realized that the chuunin's hair was unbound. Wet strands clung to the young man's neck and forehead, and all Kakashi could think was that he had always liked Iruka's hair down. It had softened his stern appearance. Now, however, it gave the young teacher a helplessness that radiated throughout his entire body. His strong frame radiated with a powerful energy that set the injured man slightly on edge, but his body language was the complete opposite. At that moment, all Kakashi wanted to do was protect the young man from the rest of the world, and the most painful irony was that Iruka didn't need protection from anyone but him. Sighing, Iruka's shoulders drooped and he looked up at Kakashi. "Just leave me alone, Kakashi."

"No." Kakashi's response was nothing more than a soft release of air as he shook his head. If their separation had taught Kakashi anything, it was that he – once a shinobi of unrivaled courage and loyalty – was a coward when it came to his emotions. The deeper the emotion, the more he wanted to bury it and deny its existence. In the life of a shinobi, that ability was a necessary trait, but when it came to standing before the man he had, against all odds, fallen in love with, Kakashi found himself afraid to open up and express himself.

"Please, Kakashi… Leave me alone," Iruka all but begged as he looked at Kakashi with haunting eyes, before quickly turning around so that he was no longer facing him. Kakashi nearly let his spinelessness take over and do just as Iruka asked, but he fought against his long-held hatred of displaying emotion. Instead, he took a step into the water, disregarding its cold temperature, as he studied Iruka's scarred back.

Taking a deep breath, Kakashi found the strength to say the one thing he had regretted not telling Iruka every moment of every day, since he himself had started to realize it. "I love you." As he spoke, his voice broke, cracking with emotion that even surprised Kakashi.

Iruka let out a strangled sound that wrenched at Kakashi's heart. The teacher spun back around, his eyes revealing a mixture of pain and disbelief, but they were quickly replaced by an emotion both men understood well – anger.

"How dare you!" Iruka spat out as he glared at Kakashi, ignoring the warm stinging that came to his eyes as he looked to him. "How can you tell me you love me now?! A year ago, you were almost too happy to leave me!" As Iruka snapped at him, the man's hands gestured accusingly. His inability to speak without using his entire body was something that had, at one time, amused Kakashi, but now it made him realize how much he had truly hurt Iruka. Those trembling arms revealed the same heart-wrenching emotions that the teacher's tone was laced with, amplifying the brunet's distress.

Kakashi closed his natural eye, hearing the raw emotion in Iruka's voice – it was painful to hear, but at the same time, hopeful. The brunet sounded far more like his old self than that creature he had turned into, for a short while, during the exams.

"I didn't want to leave," he admitted quietly, knowing his words carried over to the brunet. Iruka scoffed, nearly snarling at him. Hearing his response, Kakashi felt a wave of anger hit him. No one else had ever been able to arouse his emotions, but Iruka did it without any effort. "You think I was happy being sent to Suna?"

"Well you sure as hell didn't argue it!" Iruka snapped, his hands tightening into fists as his body shook with barely contained emotion. "You just left me in the middle of the night!"

"I didn't mean anything to you anyways!" Kakashi retorted. Ignoring the brunet's response of widened eyes, he continued on in anger, "I saw you and Anko!"

"Leave her out of this!" Iruka quickly stated, quashing his momentary confusion over Kakashi's first comment, with anger over the inclusion of his friend in their argument. It didn't take him more than a split second to realize that it was the day after he slept with Kakashi, that Anko had approached him with her plan to ensnare Ibiki. It took no amount of creativity to realize Kakashi must have been fooled by their relationship like everyone else. "She has nothing to do with you being an asshole!"

"You're no better than me!" Kakashi replied scathingly as he took another uneven step into the cold water, uncaring that his pants were already being weighed down by the liquid. At the moment, his anger was warming his body enough for him to not notice the sudden drop in temperature.

"I didn't take someone's virginity, and then disappear!" Iruka spoke without thinking, but as soon as the words came out of his mouth, he found himself unable to stop from pouring out his heart to the one person he least wanted to reveal it to. "I needed you to be my friend… my lover… and you just vanished!

"Everyone else lied to me, but you betrayed me! They had done it to protect me, but what about you? Did you leave because I wasn't good in bed? If so, I'm _sorry_ I didn't have any experience. Or was it because you have such a lack of emotion, you didn't care for me at all?

"Other than Naruto, you were the first person I ever trusted completely, and I trust him because he is my son and loves me unconditionally. I thought that you might be able to accept me if I slowly told you what I am – if I proved that I wasn't a monster." The next words Iruka spoke, Kakashi couldn't tell for whose benefit they were. It sounded like the brunet was trying to convince himself more than Kakashi, as the younger man wrapped his arms around his bare shoulders in an uncharacteristic display of vulnerability. "I'm not a monster…"

Iruka finally fell silent, his voice hoarse from the pent up emotions he had been unknowingly hiding for so long. Glad he was no longer facing the older man, having turned away from him at some point during his cathartic rant, Iruka bowed his head, taking a shaky gasp for air as long-buried emotions raced through him.

The anger melted away from Kakashi at those words, and all he was left with was a feeling of loss. Iruka had made no mention of hating him, nor stated that he was in a relationship with Anko. No, Iruka had outright told him that Kakashi was his first. Kakashi found himself stepping backwards as he came to a frightening possibility – that all of this was a horrible misunderstanding.

Kakashi opened his mouth to speak, his words softening, and his tone no longer laced with the anger and bitterness he had felt only a few moments ago. Those soft sobs coming from the brunet erased any harsh emotions Kakashi felt towards the young man. "Iruka, I left because I thought I had taken advantage of you – that you would hate me. I thought you would be better off without me around."

"What kind of twisted logic is that?" Iruka all but whispered as his head lifted slightly, wishing Kakashi still had that furious tone. At least then he wouldn't find his heart begging for him to accept Kakashi's reasoning.

"The logic of someone who's still getting used to the idea of being in love," Kakashi said quietly, the right corner of his lips quirking up in a small smile at his own pitifully corny statement. "I'm sorry, Iruka. I never meant to hurt you."

The brunet bit his lip to stifle a sob. Those few words were ones that he had dreamed of hearing since he fled from the jounin exams, but now that he heard them coming from the silver-haired man, Iruka couldn't help but wonder if it could be so simple to forgive Kakashi for everything.

"Please, Iruka…" Kakashi pleaded as he watched the brunet's shoulders tense slightly. Wishing he had the strength in his legs to wade out further into the frigid water, Kakashi found himself stranded several feet from the young man, unable to reach out and touch him as he desperately wanted to. His fingers itched to touch those muscular shoulders; his arms ached to hold the young man's warm body against his own.

"How…" Iruka said quietly as he finally pulled his hands away from his face. "How can you say you love me, when you can't even trust me?" The image of Kakashi's eyes, filled with distrust, burned in his mind and the teacher couldn't rid himself of the proof of that suspicion. "You can't accept me for who I am – what I am. I told you so many times that I wasn't dangerous. Maybe you were right to be doubtful."

"I trust you," Kakashi replied reflexively, only to realize as he spoke, that it wasn't simply a phrase, but that he actually meant the words. For the first time in far more years than Kakashi cared to admit, he fully and unconditionally trusted someone.

The sound that came out of the teacher, somewhere between a snort and a gasp, showed his doubt of Kakashi's trust. Instead of being annoyed by his easy dismissal, Kakashi found himself agreeing with Iruka's response. Had he been the brunet, he would have been skeptical as well. Especially considering he had still held that mistrust such a short while ago, it seemed nearly impossible for Kakashi to change so much.

Throwing caution to the wind, along with his lifelong trait of over thinking everything, Kakashi acted on instinct. Without another word to the brunet, he all but tore his plated gloves off and threw them on the shore. Following them came his precious vest and the several packs of weapons strapped to him. Though no longer a shinobi, they were articles he couldn't bear to pack away with his beloved hitai-ate. Without them, he felt just like he currently did as the last kunai pouch landed on the ground with a soft _chink_ – vulnerable.

Moving stiffly, Kakashi brought his hands up to carefully unwrap the heavy bandaging around the left side of his face. Once the last of the gauze hit the sandy bank, he awkwardly pulled his shirt off. Biting back hisses of pain as he felt several stitches pull, the delicate flesh reopening at his quick movements, he threw the shirt as well as his dark mask into the pile.

Slipping further into the water, Kakashi all but gasped as the cold temperature hit him and froze him to the very core. Each injury quickly became blissfully numb as he inelegantly began swimming with his unbroken leg, and with what little range of motion his arms would allow.

Having never been a particularly strong swimmer, it took Kakashi an embarrassingly long period of time to reach the brunet. As soon as he was close enough to the teacher, he reached out and pulled the smaller man against him, ignoring the cries of pain that raced through his body.

"K-Kakashi!" Iruka squeaked in surprise, obviously not expecting the man to swim out to him in this frigid water. Kakashi bowed his head, pressing his lips against the base of the teacher's muscular neck. Sighing in contentment, Kakashi was happy just to hold the young man against his chest, breathing in his salty aroma.

"I trust you, Iruka," Kakashi repeated softly, wishing there was a better way to prove himself, than to disarm himself and brave the possibility of hypothermia and drowning for the stubborn teacher. No matter how idiotic his gesture was, he didn't regret a moment of it when Iruka turned to look over his shoulder, and one of those tanned hands came to touch the side of his face – the side that he had caught a glimpse of before leaving the hospital. It was the side that was destroyed beyond recognition, but Kakashi cared nothing for his features, so he simply took it as another one of the injuries he deserved. From the soft gasp Iruka let out, the teacher thought otherwise.

"I did this…" Iruka said so quietly, Kakashi barely heard him. Feeling the brunet's hand start to warm up with healing chakra, Kakashi moved quickly to pull his hand away. Shifting his grip on the teacher's hand, Kakashi intertwined their fingers and held Iruka's hand at a distance.

"Don't," he stated easily, as he looked down into the teacher's eyes with both his natural eye and his Sharingan. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Iruka. I deserved far worse than this, and I have no problem living with it."

"You were the one saying you were just protecting me," Iruka pointed out as he turned around in Kakashi's arms, his movements holding the grace of someone quite accustomed to the water, whereas Kakashi was fighting to remain buoyant.

"But I hurt you," Kakashi replied as he shifted his hold on the teacher so that he could cup one of those bronzed cheeks, as he bowed his head and captured the young man's lips in a chaste kiss. Almost as soon as their lips touched, Kakashi forgot about the freezing water around them. All he could feel was the impossibly warm body in his arms, and that soft pressure against his mouth.

Iruka finally broke the sweet kiss, tilting his head up slightly so his nose brushed gingerly against the Kakashi's crooked one. Though no longer the handsome, almost flawlessly symmetrical feature Iruka remembered, there was something endearing about Kakashi's newly acquired imperfection. Smiling, he knew that Kakashi's words had two meanings. He was not only talking about emotionally hurting Iruka, but also for their brief night of passion. Returning his lips to Kakashi's, the teacher kissed the older man deeply, recalling their heated kisses from over a year ago.

Kakashi immediately responded to Iruka's actions, groaning into the smaller man's mouth as he forced himself to remain still, and let Iruka decide where their relationship was going. When he finally felt Iruka's wet arms wrap around his neck, pulling the brunet flush against him, Kakashi nearly lost what little control he had. A year had changed Iruka drastically, defining every muscle in his already perfect frame, strengthening every inch of him until he was a force to be reckoned with, even without his demon-enhanced abilities.

Their kiss was languid as Iruka slipped his fingers into Kakashi's silver hair, forcing the older man to bow his head lower as the brunet mapped every inch of his mouth. Running his tongue along the Kakashi's teeth, Iruka felt sharpened edges that he didn't remember. It didn't take him more than a moment to realize that Kakashi must have chipped some of his teeth in the past year. More than likely, it was one of Iruka's attacks that had left him with his new bite.

Kakashi was the first to break the kiss, bowing his head so that his forehead rested against Iruka's. Despite the delicious heat pooling again in his lower body, he still had to clamp his mouth shut so that his teeth wouldn't chatter. Even with his valiant attempts, a shiver snuck past his defenses and made Iruka gasp slightly.

"What the hell were you thinking!? Stripping down and swimming out here! You could catch a cold!" Iruka ranted, his eyes widening as he finally caught a glimpse of the Kakashi's bare torso that was fully submerged in the water. Fighting back the urge to hit the man for his idiocy, Iruka instead moved to wrap his arms around Kakashi, easily surrounding the silver-haired man with the same jutsu that was keeping him comfortably warm, despite the cool water.

Kakashi made a sound of surprise when the temperature around him changed drastically, but Iruka didn't give him a chance to speak. "It's a jutsu that Neji, Lee, and Shikamaru had me perfect during the exams," Iruka explained softly as he moved to rest his head on Kakashi's shoulder, blowing puffs of warm air against his bare neck. The older man's body tightened at the breaths against his skin and Kakashi shivered - though this time he was far from feeling cold.

Feeling the silver-haired man's response, Iruka felt a smirk come to his face, and the teacher purposely took deep breaths in order to exhale against the junction of the silver-haired man's neck and shoulder. Glancing up at his face, Iruka couldn't help but bring a hand up to brush against the marred cheek that had once been the very image of masculine perfection. Brushing a finger against the older man's cheekbone, Iruka could feel the numerous breaks that were slowly beginning to heal. For a moment, Kakashi's lips quirked up in a lopsided smile, and a shiver went down Iruka's back when he realized that the lack of movement on the right side of his face was not intentional.

"Nerve damage," Iruka said softly, almost questioningly, as he let his fingers trail along that once handsome face, mapping out each minute injury that he had inflicted on the man. "How badly did I hurt you, Kakashi?" he finally asked as he tore his gaze away from the man's face, instead staring at Kakashi's chest, which was no longer a luminous alabaster that Iruka remembered, but the dark, mottled colors of slowly healing bruises. What little bit of skin was not bruised, was a rich tan that was almost equal to Iruka's own shade.

"It isn't your fault," Kakashi was quick to reply as he ran his fingers down the teacher's spine. Pressing his lips against Iruka's forehead, he knew that there was no way he could get the young man to just let the subject go, but what made his chest tighten slightly was the realization that he couldn't – no, wouldn't – lie to him and make his injuries seem less serious than they truly were. Now that the brunet was in his arms, Kakashi found himself unable to even consider the possibility of twisting the truth, just to make the younger man feel better.

"That isn't what I asked," Iruka said, as he pushed away from Kakashi just enough to take in the countless stitches that were covering the older man's torso and arms. Gingerly touching one of the larger and more serious looking of the gashes, Iruka bit his lip as he wondered how much pain the silver-haired man was currently in.

"I almost died twice," Kakashi answered with a sigh, wishing he could go against his newfound conscience and sugarcoat such a statement so that it didn't sound like, in some way, Iruka was to blame. "A total of nine surgeries and, if Tsunade is right in her counting, there were forty seven breaks and three hundred and two stitches."

"I'm sorry," Iruka whispered as he touched one of the darker marks on Kakashi's ribcage. Running his fingers along one rib, he could feel three spots which, a few weeks ago, must have been distinct breaks. "I never meant-"

"Don't apologize, Iruka," Kakashi interrupted, catching the younger man's chin and forcing him to look up into his mismatched eyes. "I deserved far worse." Without a second thought, Kakashi gingerly kissed the teacher, trailing his tongue along pouting lips until the brunet slowly began to return the gentle pressure. Almost as soon as their tongues brushed against one another, sending an electric shiver down Kakashi's back, Iruka pulled away. Kakashi felt his chest tighten in unfamiliar sensations, when he saw the uncertainty in the teacher's face.

"Kakashi…" Iruka trailed off, bowing his head as he tried to think of a way to put his feelings into words, but he didn't know how to express how much he regretted losing himself to that darkness – happily surrendering just so that he wouldn't have to deal with the pain. The past three weeks made him realize his own cowardice, but more than that, it forced Iruka to see his own feelings for the man who had hurt him so badly.

It wasn't the friendship that they had that made Kakashi's distrust so painful – it was a budding feeling that Iruka had never had the chance to cultivate because, for the longest time, he couldn't remember the man who made his heart skip a beat whenever he smiled, or let out one of those muffled chuckles. There was something about his mismatched eyes that warmed the teacher's body, his very kisses set him on fire, but it was, most of all, those arms now loosely wrapped around him that made Iruka realize how much he had been missing. In those arms, he felt completely safe and couldn't help but wholly trust the man who, with just a simple embrace, could put him at ease.

"I don't expect you to feel anything for me, Iruka, especially not after everything I've done." Kakashi let out a breath of air before saying the one thing he had been certain of, even a year ago. "But if we could still be friends…" The mere idea of a platonic relationship with the teacher made a part of him cry out, but Kakashi knew that he would do anything just for the chance to see the teacher – to talk to him, to laugh like they once had. Even losing the possibility of being lovers was worth that.

Iruka bit his cheek for a moment before answering, "I don't want to be friends, Kakashi." Those few words tore at Kakashi far worse than he thought was possible, but the next statement out of the teacher, almost caused him to double over in amazement. Instead, his jaw dropped as he outright stared at the younger man. "I want more than that."

"Iruka-"

Iruka covered his mouth with one hand as he looked up into his eyes, smiling slightly when he saw the older man's surprise. "You didn't force me to do anything I didn't want to, a year ago. As for what you saw the next day… Anko and I are friends... She and I pretended to date to make Ibiki jealous," Iruka said, letting out a soft chuckle when he saw the mixture of confusion and amazement in his features. "They're engaged now." Feeling the silver-haired man's lips move against his palm, Iruka shook his head, silencing Kakashi before his muffled statement even reached the teacher's ears. "I would have never agreed to it if I had remembered…" Seeing Kakashi's confusion, Iruka found himself explaining what had happened to him a year ago, as best as he could figure. "Mizutamari Mari repressed all my memories of you after you left – he thought it would be too painful for me to remember… and deal with you abandoning me. He did it to protect not only me, but the entire village. He thought I would have lost control, had I known.

"I guess he was right, in a way. Tsunade, Naruto, Anko… everyone else was in on it. They thought it would be better for me, if there was no way I could remember you at all. They were just trying to keep me from being hurt," Iruka whispered this last phrase as he glanced away from the older man momentarily. "But I knew I was forgetting something. Every time I walked by my kitchen or ate at Ichiraku's… Whenever I glanced out the academy window… everything reminded me that I was missing something… then the jounin exams started.

"I didn't have the time to think about my memory lapse during the exams, but by then I had already gotten the feeling that you were the one I was forgetting. Hardly anyone mentioned the infamous Copy Nin when I was around… They kind of acted suspicious if they did. I was having dreams of _someone_, but I could never remember who they were when I woke up… but I remembered your dimples of all things…

"I thought I was losing my mind for a while, but then things started to make sense. You left right after I realized Mizutamari Mari had suppressed some of my memories, no one would talk about you… no one had ever seen you're your face, so how would Mizutamari Mari know to look for memories about you having dimples… then the last exam started. By then, I _knew _it was you I was forgetting, but I had no idea why. I kept asking myself how I would have even known you, much less why my memories of you would be suppressed… Then I saw you." At those words, Iruka's voice cracked and he was forced to take a shaky breath of air as he bowed his head, resting his forehead against the Kakashi's shoulder.

"When we were fighting, I-I started getting these flashes of images. We were eating together, talking, laughing… It wasn't until you tore through my clone with your Chidori that I remembered that we were lovers. When you said you loved me… I remembered that you left me… then everything went red. I was so angry, so hurt…" Iruka let out a soft whimper as he remembered the agony that tore through his chest, giving him the strength to control his doppelganger so well that it bled just as he would have. It was in that heart-wrenching pain that he found the ability to do what no other Umino had ever accomplished. He was able to become the monster Mizutamari Mari feared he would become. It was in those moments, he felt sadistic enough to make Kakashi believe he had truly killed him. For a few brief seconds, he had hated the man so much, his humanity was in perfect accord with his dark half – he was going to kill him, but then Kakashi's words reached his ears, tearing apart that hatred and leaving him with such pain that Iruka couldn't deal with it anymore.

"I let the other side of me take over – it was too painful for me to be near you then. For a little while, I couldn't feel anything, couldn't remember anything, but then I remembered how much I loved Naruto and… and then I could see what my other half had done – that I had hurt so many people I cared for. In my hatred for you, I almost killed my son. That was what brought me back…"

"I never meant to hurt you, Iruka," Kakashi whispered into the young man's hand, wishing there was some way he could erase all the mistakes he had made – make Iruka forget about the pain he had to deal with, because Kakashi was emotionally crippled for so long, it had taken a near-death experience to start understanding that he was not the emotionless person he made himself out to be.

"I know," Iruka replied simply, the truth to his words ringing in his very voice. "But it still hurt when I saw that you didn't trust me, though you had every right to think I was a threat..." He glanced up into the man's face and sighed when he saw the marks that made him wince in empathy. "I lost control of my emotions – of myself – but I promise it won't happen again…"

"Don't promise something like that," Kakashi stated as he looked down at the young man. "If I ever do something to piss you off, you can beat me within an inch of my life… I deserve it." Seeing the disbelief in Iruka's eyes, he chuckled hoarsely. "I have a thick skull and I'm not very good with change or emotions, but I will do my best…"

"No one is perfect, least of all me," Iruka pointed out as he blushed furiously for what he was about to say, before quickly kissing Kakashi's lips. "But if you're willing to deal with my mood swings and my unique abilities… and then there's Naruto and Mizutamari Mari-" Iruka never got the chance to finish that statement because Kakashi, with a strength that surprised both men, all but lifted Iruka out of the water, crushing their lips together in a physical display of what he thought of Iruka's statement.

All thoughts of trying to warn Kakashi away from him disappeared as Iruka felt the man's tongue begging for entrance, sending delicious shivers down the teacher's spine as he realized what Kakashi thought of his attempts. It didn't help Iruka's cause that he could feel that crooked smile against his own lips, amusement radiating off every inch of his lanky body. No, not just delight, but something that made Iruka's heart race as he relented to Kakashi's silent demands, and opened his mouth.

Nothing could have prepared Iruka for the shiver of pure desire that wracked his body when Kakashi's tongue probed his mouth, hesitantly touching his own as though unsure what to do. Eagerly returning the kiss before Kakashi made the wrong assumption, and thought he had done something wrong, Iruka wove his fingers into the man's silver hair and melded his lips against Kakashi's.

No words were exchanged as Kakashi loosened his hold on the teacher, in order to run his hands along the planes of the man's muscular back, while simultaneously, Iruka hooked a leg around the older man's narrow hip, keeping himself raised out of the water just enough to give him the height advantage. Iruka felt a distinct hardness press into his thigh as he moved so that their bodies were flush against one another. Slowly rocked his hips against Kakashi's, Iruka shivered when he heard the older man let out a soft groan. It didn't help matters that, with each movement Iruka made, a current of water caressed Kakashi's lower body teasingly. A part of the silver-haired man was sure that it wasn't simply the laws of physics toying with his arousal, but that the teacher had a hand in it. At the moment, he would not put it past the man who was kissing him with the same longing Kakashi felt.

Despite the warmth surrounding him and the shivers of pleasure running through his body, Kakashi couldn't ignore the twinge of agony that shot up his leg, as he kicked his legs in an attempt to keep them from sinking into the water. Breaking their kiss reluctantly, Kakashi took a few moments to brush kisses along the teacher's jaw line and down his neck, before trusting his voice enough to form words.

"Mind continuing this on land?" Kakashi asked with a chuckle as he realized the irony of their situation. Iruka loved the water and controlled it in such a way, even water demons were jealous of him, whereas Kakashi, on a good day, could swim just well enough that he didn't drown.

Blushing slightly, Iruka looked down into his face and saw the strain in his features. He couldn't help himself as he sent out a tendril of chakra that, in an instant, told him that the silver-haired man was in agony, just trying to stay afloat. "You don't swim well, do you?" Iruka questioned, doing his best not to chuckle, as he slipped off of the older man and lazily began swimming towards the shore, in a soundless agreement to Kakashi's request.

"A rock can swim better than me, most of the time," Kakashi replied jokingly, though his voice was still laced with barely controlled desire. He couldn't keep himself from feeling like drowning wouldn't be such a bad end, if it was while making love to the young man who was gracefully swimming an arm's length away. Iruka moved with such powerful, languid strokes that, for every movement he made, Kakashi had to flail several times to catch up.

"We will have to work on that," Iruka stated as he turned over onto his back, in order to watch Kakashi as they inched towards the side of the pond. Every movement the older man made, was one that made the healer in the brunet cringe. It was obvious that Kakashi was in agony, but Iruka knew that he was stubborn enough that he would ignore it until he either hurt himself even worse, or passed out from the pain.

It wasn't until they reached dry land and Iruka easily walked up onto the shore that the brunet began to realize just how taxing it had to be for Kakashi to swim – if his jerking movements could be called such. As Iruka watched, the silver-haired man pulled himself out of the pond and onto the sandy beach. It didn't take the teacher more than a second to realize why Kakashi hadn't done the sensible thing and walked out of the water.

His pants, soaked as they were, the dark material clung to the older man's body like a second skin, revealing the narrowness of his hips, the hardness that Iruka had been teasing before, but most of all, that cloth revealed the different shapes of the Kakashi's legs. One leg, Iruka could see the powerful muscles that all shinobi had, but the other was strangely bulky and smooth, hiding the limb that matched his other thigh.

"You broke your leg…" Iruka said weakly as he dropped to his knees next to him, fighting back the urge to slap the man for his stupidity. Casts were not supposed to get wet, much less submerged, and a broken leg most certainly was not a good thing to swim with.

"Technically, you broke it," Kakashi replied as he was forced to put his hands underneath the cast, and lift his broken leg to move it fully out of the water. At the moment, his limb was cramping so badly, a part of the silver-haired man was certain amputation would have been less painful, but he refused to show on his face any of the agony he felt. Glancing over at the teacher kneeling at his side, Kakashi instantly regretted his poor attempt at a joke. Those watery eyes struck him, leaving him breathless, and at a loss for what to do to assuage the pain that sight left in his chest.

"I'm sor-" Kakashi leaned over and crushed his lips against Iruka's before the word even left the brunet's mouth. The rest of the apology was lost as the older man deepened their kiss until all thoughts of apologizing flew from Iruka's head.

Finally satisfied that the teacher wasn't going to try to beg for forgiveness again, Kakashi sat back and studied the teacher's dumbfounded expression with a pleased smirk. "Now, if you're done, I'd really like to go home and ravish you where there's a soft bed, and where I won't run the risk of being put in jail for indecent exposure…" The blush that crept up the teacher's neck and into his cheeks was an impressive one that made Kakashi raise an eyebrow curiously. It was only then that he took in the teacher's full body, and realized how close his joke had been to the truth. The beautiful man before him hadn't a single stitch of clothing on his magnificently tanned skin – for which the pervert in Kakashi was ever so pleased to realize. At the same time, however, a side of the silver-haired pervert realized that meant anyone passing by could see Iruka in all of his naked glory.

"It's easier to swim without clothes on," Iruka said softly, answering Kakashi's unspoken question as his lips formed a small pout. Shifting in order to cover as much of himself as possible, from anyone lucky enough to be passing by, the teacher blushed a rich crimson as he bowed his head. "But we should get you home and in bed. You shouldn't even be out walking with that leg," the teacher scolded, but as he looked back up at the silver-haired man, he had the distinct feeling that Kakashi had not heeded his words one bit.

_Home… _It was the only word Kakashi had gotten from Iruka's statement, but it was one that sent such a plethora of emotions resounding through him that he was unsure what he should do. For the past year, his home was in Suna and before that, it was wherever he was sleeping that night. No – those places weren't really home, but just where he resided. The last time he really could say he was _home_ was before he had even hit puberty. It was when his parents were both alive, when Obito, Rin, and the Yondaime were still around… It was when he still had someone to love and care for.

"I love you," Kakashi said simply, as he lifted a hand up to brush his thumb gingerly against the teacher's jaw. Unsure where his sudden declaration came from, Iruka furrowed his eyebrows momentarily, but then a smile came to his face before he placed a peck on Kakashi's marred cheek. The next words out of the teacher's mouth floored Kakashi so much so, that, for the first time in his life, Kakashi couldn't think of a quick comeback. No, at that moment, the capacity for actual thought had even left him.

"And I love you, for all your stupid logic and stubbornness," Iruka replied before brushing his lips against Kakashi's. What was meant to be a simple kiss, quickly deteriorated into something that left both men breathlessly groping one another's bodies, their pleased groans muffled by the other's lips.

Sliding one hand down Iruka's silken skin, until he reached the younger man's slim hip, Kakashi smirked into their kiss as his hand shifted to the front of the brunet, griping him tightly. The sound that came out of the teacher in response was one that sent a shiver of excitement down Kakashi's spine, and the silver-haired man couldn't help but break their kiss, in order to look into Iruka's eyes and hear the soft whimpers he was previously swallowing.

"Please, Kakashi," Iruka hissed as the older man ran his thumb across the tip of his erection, spreading the bead of liquid around in small circles, that left the teacher panting softly. Hearing the need in the younger man's voice, Kakashi tightened his grip as he slowly began to run his hand along the brunet's length. In a matter of seconds, Iruka's breath hitched, which sent a shiver of pleasure down Kakashi's back.

Without warning, Kakashi felt a wave of dark chakra envelope him and, for the briefest of moments, his body tightened as he prepared himself for an attack, only to recognize the powerful energy surrounding him as that of the kindhearted young man next to him. Loosening his body and letting his guard back down, Kakashi looked into the teacher's eyes, and found himself breathless when he saw the emotions running through those chocolate orbs.

"Do you trust me, Kakashi?" Iruka asked softly, uncertainty ringing in his voice. He had sensed Kakashi's guard go up, his body preparing to defend himself, but he had also noted that it took a moment for the older man to calm back down. Would their relationship always be this hesitant and unsure, as Kakashi simply grew used to his unique chakra? Would he ever be able to accept Iruka for who he was?

"I don't like being surprised… few people do," Kakashi admitted as he brought a hand up to cup the teacher's cheek. "But I do trust you – I just didn't recognize your chakra for a moment…" The look Iruka gave him made Kakashi feel like he had somehow done something unforgivable, but damned if he knew what it was. It only took another moment of looking into those eyes, to understand how much his mistrust had scarred Iruka. To immediately prepare for some attacker, was probably the worst thing he could have done at that moment. "I'm sorry, Iruka… I'm not used to being helpless…" Kakashi admitted quietly, implying the one thing he hadn't stated out loud to anyone else.

Iruka studied him for a moment, furrowing his eyebrows as compassionate eyes trailed up and down him. Those same orbs widened as Iruka quickly glanced over towards the pile of Kakashi's stripped clothes, but whatever he was looking for couldn't be found, from the soft gasp that escaped the teacher's lips. "W-where is your hitai-ate?" he asked hesitantly as he looked back to Kakashi, only to see in those mismatched eyes, a confirmation of the assumption his quick mind had already come up with.

"I'm no longer a shinobi… My injuries are too severe for me to go back," Kakashi replied, but there was none of the expected regret in his voice. No, it was simply a fact to the silver-haired man and, judging from the tone of his admission, it was something Kakashi himself had only recently begun to accept. "Tsunade said my limp will be permanent… Then there's the head and spinal trauma that left me with some paralysis, and my chakra pathways were destroyed. Now, the worst of your students could take me one-on-one, and I wouldn't have a chance…"

"I'm so sor-" Iruka closed his mouth mid-syllable when he saw the glare the older man directed at him. "Please, I can heal you… let me help…" Kakashi said nothing for a moment, but simply shook his head.

"If I'm supposed to return to my position, then I'll heal in time, but I don't want you to ever blame yourself… or heal me out of regret," Kakashi finally replied before leaning in to kiss Iruka chastely. "My injuries have made me realize there are a lot of things I have to fix about myself, that I would have never noticed if I hadn't lost my position…"

"Like what?" Iruka didn't mean to pry, but he couldn't keep himself from asking the man what could possibly be worth losing the only life he had ever known.

"I need to express myself better. I can't hide my emotions or pretend to not even feel them. All of this has taught me that I'm just as fallible as everyone else…" Kakashi trailed off as he studied the teacher's gentle eyes, before smiling lopsidedly. "But, more importantly, it taught me that the world isn't black and white… it isn't just strength, loyalty, and chakra that makes a shinobi great, but it's their compassion and their forgiveness. I-I know now what my greatest strength is, and it isn't my ability to copy any jutsu or my genius, or anything else I once thought it was."

Iruka opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't form a single word when he saw the look in the older man's eyes. "It's you, Iruka… My love for you is the best thing about me." Kakashi finally fell silent, inwardly berating himself for sounding like one of the countless romance novels he had read over the years, but he didn't know any other way to express his strange gratitude towards the teacher for destroying the man he once was. For the first time in his life, Kakashi was starting to understand why so many of his friends said he needed a healthy dose of humility. It just happened to be that he didn't simply get that little humbling experience, but an overdose that not even his emotionally-handicapped self could ignore.

For a moment, the teacher remained silent and Kakashi couldn't help but wonder if he, again, had said something wrong. When he saw the watery tears filling the brunet's eyes, Kakashi was certain he had made some misstep, but within a fraction of a second, found the teacher clinging to him, sniffling. At a loss for what to do – his Icha Icha novels never talked about such unfamiliar territory – Kakashi did what his instincts were telling him to do, and wrapped his arms around the younger man and held him as he pressed gentle kisses into his hair.

"I love you, Kakashi," Iruka whispered weakly into the older man's shoulder before sitting back and hastily wiping his eyes. A few soft hiccups escaped the teacher as he tried to take several calming breaths, but found himself failing when he looked up at the silver-haired man again. Seeing that crooked smile along with the man's upturned eyes, made Iruka let out a watery chuckle. For a moment, it was almost as though the past year hadn't happened. No, Iruka quickly saw the fallacy of such a statement. He was now a stronger individual because of everything, able to control his demonic self far better than he had ever hoped to achieve, whereas Kakashi had happily traded his inhuman strength and speed, in order to _be_ just a little more human. It had taken a year for Iruka to become proud of who and what he was, and it took Kakashi that same year to realize that emotions were a source of strength, and weren't something to be ignored or hidden. But, more importantly, it took both of them over a year to be able to trust one another wholly and completely. It was a year that Iruka wouldn't have traded for anything.

"I love you too," Kakashi replied before he pressed a kiss against the teacher's forehead. He didn't know it, but his thoughts ran parallel to the young man's and, for a moment, Kakashi was infinitely thankful for everything that had happened to him. The only thing he would change would be that he trusted Iruka from the beginning, and told the young teacher that he meant everything to him, as soon as he started to realize it himself. Smirking, Kakashi added, "I started falling in love with you at the beginning of that chuunin exam… No one ever disagreed with me before."

"Sometimes I wonder if insanity is a requirement to become a jounin," Iruka replied with a sigh as he shook his head. "All of you seem a little crazy to me."

"I don't know about jounin, being that I'm a civilian," Kakashi commented jokingly, receiving a sheepish blush from the teacher. "But if that's true, then you have to be just as crazy as any other jounin."

"What?" Iruka's eyes widened in surprise as he studied Kakashi, but could see that the man was speaking the truth. "I-I passed?"

"You are the first jounin in history to defeat all your examiners. Tsunade has explained everything to the Elders and the jounin community about your unique chakra, and they voted on what they should do with you. It was unanimous that you aren't a threat to the village, and that you are to be promoted as soon as you get back from your 'vacation.'" Kakashi had no idea the kind of effect his statement would have, so he was pleasantly surprised when Iruka all but leapt on him, kissing every inch of his face and neck. "Now, can we go home?" Kakashi asked as he felt his lower body warm in response to the teacher's display of gratitude. He could only imagine how Iruka would thank him if and when he told the teacher that, since waking up the other day he had been the one who had changed so many minds, making such a vote possible. For him to lose his own shinobi status, and nearly his very life, but still champion the person responsible for it all – it was something that made many of the Elders and the more wary of the jounin, rethink their quickly-made assumptions about the academy teacher who had demonic chakra.

"Home…" Iruka repeated with a smile. This time, when his chakra enveloped the lanky man, Kakashi did nothing more than return that smile, before amorously kissing Iruka as they were transported from the shore, to a place both men could finally call home.

--

Naruto stuck out his hand in front of the other blonde's nose, wiggling his fingers impatiently as she softly groaned as she counted out the last of her savings. Placing the thick wad of bills in the boy's hands, she cried inwardly as she watched him stick it in his vibrantly-colored jacket.

"Oi, Naruto, we've got to get going if we're going to make it to Suna by nightfall," Jiraiya complained quietly as he hunched down on the branch next to the boy and the Hokage. "I know I'm a bad influence, but you can't go around looking into anyone's bedroom windows – you have to be selective with this sort of thing - and… wait… is that Iruka's house?"

"Un," was the boy's only answer as he handed over the binoculars to the old pervert. Quickly glancing through the eyepieces, Jiraiya felt a trail of blood trickle out of his nose, which he quickly mopped up with the tissue Tsunade passed over to him. Apparently the two blondes came prepared.

"Naruto bet me a fortune that Kakashi would be able to call Iruka back in a day… I said it would take at least four or five," Tsunade stated as she stole the binoculars back from Jiraiya and giggled, all thoughts of her lost bet forgotten.

"I said a few weeks." Jiraiya let out a soft eep, nearly falling off the branch in surprise when a very familiar looking brunet appeared next to him. Seeing the slight differences in his features, however, the pervert knew that it wasn't the teacher who now was moving to sit down next to him on the crowding tree branch, a good half-mile away from the brunet's apartment.

"Yea, but you also underestimated Iruka… I told you he would forgive Kakashi too easily…" Naruto stated proudly, revealing he knew his adoptive father far better than anyone else on the branch.

"At least I'm not the one watching my father and his boyfriend in the act," Mizutmari Mari replied, sticking his tongue out in a strangely Naruto-like fashion. Seeing the looks he received, the demon realized he had been spending far too much time with the blonde lately. "You all are perverts…"

"What about you? You were the one who suggested this tree…" Tsunade pointed out with a raised eyebrow. The kappa glared at her for a moment before letting out a sigh and waving his hand nonchalantly.

"I'm a demon… we all proudly admit we're perverts," the demon responded before looking back in the direction of Iruka's apartment. A safe enough distance away that the demonically-enhanced teacher couldn't sense them, none of them worried about being discovered.

"So, how do you think they made up so quickly? I mean, Kakashi might be a genius, but he's an absolute idiot when it comes to emotions…" Tsunade said curiously as she glanced over at the three males.

"It took them a year to see their failings so that they could finally admit their feelings for one another," Naruto replied as his eyes unfocused for a moment. "It really isn't that surprising, considering they've been working up towards forgiving one another for over a year…"

"When did you get so smart, gaki?" Mizutamari Mari questioned as he reached over Jiraiya in order to gently punch the boy in the arm. Naruto gave him a smirk that made the three adults feel as though the blonde boy might actually be wiser than any of them. He had seen many things in his short life and, because of it, had a better understanding than anyone else on human emotions.

"So, Naruto, I take it this means I have to actually write that sequel you have been ranting about for the past year, ne?" Jiraiya stated as he pulled out his trusty notepad. The blonde boy nodded before glancing over to his perverted teacher.

"I was thinking, since the first part was called _Shita no furukizu, _this one should be _Furukizu o irozameru_." Jiraiya nodded at Naruto's comment; it was an ingenious title that suggested the happy ending that the story would most certainly have, and was one Jiraiya could agree with wholeheartedly. Much like a scar that will in time fade, but never be forgotten, mistakes can be overcome, but neither would ever disappear. One could only hope that, in both cases, a lesson is learned from them so that a similar injury or mistake is never made again.

Ruffling the boy's hair fondly, Jiraiya prayed that the boy's father and his lover would have the kind of legendary ending Naruto had foreseen for them in his new Yaoi series. Smiling down at his intuitive student, Jiraiya had the feeling that Naruto's prediction wasn't just the makings of a romance novel, but a realistic possibility for the two men who, more than anyone else, deserved that happily ever after.

~Owari~

Authoress: Just as a note, _Ashita no furukizu _means "Underneath the Scars" and _Furukizu o irozameru_ means "Scars Fade"…now that that's out of the way…//cries// I can't believe it's all over!!! //sobs// Over three years and we have finally come to the end of perhaps the most in depth and heart-wrenching story I have ever written! This story has made me cry far more than anything I have ever come up with, but perhaps this chapter most of all. I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, but more importantly, both Scars Fade and Underneath the Scars! So, please review and don't despair! I have a treat for the epilogue…//cackles happily// kukuku…if that isn't a hint for a lemon, I don't know what is…so, until the epilogue, ja ne!


	10. The Sweetest End

Authoress: I'm back with the final installment of the Scars Series…*sniffles* I can't believe this is it!! But, please keep watching for future stories – they are already quite promising!!

Disclaimer: This is the last time I'll say this for this story! *cries* I don't own Naruto, but wouldn't it be nice if I did?!

**Epilogue**

Kakashi had to admit that he was starting to dislike transportation jutsu. His head was reeling, his vision was blurred, and his body tingled in a mixture of numbness and pain. Without the ability to see chakra, it was quite a disconcerting experience to be relocated in an instant, but, right now, it was one he wouldn't have changed for anything. It took mere moments, as he looked around at his new surroundings, for him to realize they were no longer on the sandy bank of the pond, but in a room that he immediately recognized.

He had to admit, however, that seeing it from his current position was new. The silver-haired man could only rest his head back on the soft pillow as his vision cleared enough for him to focus on the brunet hovering over him. Distinguishing the expression on the young man's face as one of concern, Kakashi could only quirk an eyebrow up curiously.

"Are you okay? You look really pale," Iruka said softly as he brought a hand up to brush a few tendrils of silvery hair away from the other man's forehead. Though his once alabaster skin was now a rich bronze matching Iruka's own, there was a bloodlessness to it that worried the brunet. Kakashi had seemed fine – other than being in pain – up until Iruka transported them back to his apartment. It was at that point that the older man began to look like he was going to be ill.

"I know why civilians refuse to be transported," Kakashi joked, his voice wavering weakly. A part of the Copy Ninja wanted to curse his bad luck – this was not how he wanted to start his second chance with Iruka! Any thoughts of moving to throw the teacher down and have his way with him were quickly vetoed as his stomach suddenly did a strange flip that left him very queasy.

"I'm sorry! I forgot…" Iruka focused a tendril of healing energy into his hand as he gingerly pressed his fingers against Kakashi's temple. Civilians were unable to control chakra, so it was understandable that being surrounded by a large amount of energy – such as when being transported by a jutsu – left them with a bit of backlash that caused nausea. But the idea that Kakashi was now one of them was too foreign to Iruka. The silver-haired pervert was one of the strongest shinobi to exist – he couldn't possibly be one of the people he had sworn to protect!

Closing his eyes, Kakashi didn't protest the warm touch that banished his sickness in moments. Though he couldn't sense it, he knew that Iruka was using only a small fraction of his vast chakra to heal him. There was no other way he could possibly improve so quickly. When that hand began to slide down off his temple and onto the mangled side of his face, Kakashi cracked open his right eye. Though his glare had no anger behind it, Iruka obviously got the hint, judging from the sad smile the teacher gave him.

He couldn't know for certain, but Kakashi trusted the brunet to have abided by his wishes and gotten rid of that healing touch of his. Shutting his natural eye, he took several deep breaths, but any attempt to keep his breathing even was quickly lost when he felt Iruka's hands begin trailing along his body. He was confident that Iruka wasn't trying to heal him, but that gentle contact still left his skin warm and tingling with awareness.

With his eyes closed, Kakashi could do little else other than feel his lover's touch dance across his marred chest and arms, smell the unique scent of him and hear the young man's deep breathing. Those three sensations were enough, however, for him to groan softly as he shifted so that he could firmly press himself against that delicious touch.

He had missed those impossibly warm hands for far too long, though he had hardly grown accustomed to them over a year ago. As Iruka's callused fingers brushed against a collar bone, Kakashi let out a soft hiss of pleasure. From the jerking movement of those hands as they quickly left his skin, Kakashi could only guess Iruka had thought he caused him pain.

Kakashi opened both of his eyes and found his gaze immediately captured by soft brown orbs filled with guilt. Before Iruka even started to open his mouth to apologize for supposedly hurting him, Kakashi pushed himself up onto his elbows and captured the teacher's lips in a gentle kiss.

"Let me heal you, Kakashi," Iruka pleaded, his voice muffled by Kakashi's mouth, but the silver-haired man understood him perfectly. In response, he gingerly licked the brunet's lower lip teasingly. Within moments of his gentle ministrations, Iruka was making a very different sound.

Moaning, the teacher quickly forgot his protest as he boldly deepened their kiss. Iruka shifted from his kneeling position next to the older man in order to straddle his midsection. Conscious to put no weight on Kakashi's body, Iruka placed his hands on either side of his lover's head, ducking down to thoroughly kiss him.

Unable to do much else, Kakashi relaxed against the bed to enjoy having the shy brunet take control. He knew he would only hurt himself if he tried to flip the teacher and return the seductive favor, not to mention that he liked this new, more dominant side of Iruka.

Instead of taking control, Kakashi focused all of his attention on the positively inspired things Iruka was doing with his tongue. When the brunet finally broke their kiss, the silver-haired man came to realize that he had somehow forgotten to breathe. Panting as soon as Iruka's lips relocated along his jaw, Kakashi closed his eyes to let his four other senses take over.

Kakashi could feel the heat radiating off the younger man, warming his own body. Though the only point of physical contact was where Iruka's lips met his skin, he could feel every inch of the brunet as though those bronze limbs were part of his own body. Long legs rested on either side of him, powerful thighs a mere hairsbreadth away from his abdomen. A perfectly tanned torso hovered over him so closely that Kakashi could very nearly feel the pounding of the teacher's heart against his own. Focusing on the teacher thusly, Kakashi didn't realize until it was too late that Iruka had been paying quite a bit of attention to the side of his neck.

Releasing the older man's flesh from the powerful suction of his mouth with a wet _pop_, Iruka pushed himself up so he could eye his handiwork with satisfaction. The darkened mark was quite visible despite the tanned skin it was on. He felt a blush creeping into his cheeks when he saw his lover's reaction. Even with half of his once perfect face scarred, Iruka could see the amused quirk of his lips that accompanied the rolling of his mismatched eyes.

"It isn't nice to tease, Iruka-_sensei_," Kakashi said softly as he mustered up enough strength to lift his hips to brush his growing erection against his lover's rear. Though he had not consciously felt Iruka placing the large love bite on his neck, his body had still reacted strongly. Smirking when he heard the teacher let out a squeak, Kakashi could only repeat his actions.

With each shift of his hips, a blinding wave of pleasure shot through Kakashi and, judging from the teacher's expression of embarrassment mixed with arousal, Iruka didn't mind the torturously slow grinding. When the brunet began meeting his thrusts, pressing back against his hardened member, Kakashi was certain of that observation.

As he relaxed back down on the bed, Kakashi slid his hands along the teacher's sides and grasped his narrow waist. Pulling Iruka's lower body closer to his own and matching the teacher's pace to his own, Kakashi angled his hips so that his erection brushed against his lover's.

For a moment, Kakashi couldn't help but take in the spectacular sight before him. No matter what, he had always thought Iruka good-looking, but he never imagined that the teacher could look as beautiful as he currently did. Though he was stark naked, Iruka didn't seem to notice that small fact anymore as he continued their sensual dance. His scarred cheeks were flushed, not out of embarrassment, but need.

His lower lip, already swollen from kisses, was held tightly between perfectly straight teeth as he tried to hold back his whimpers. The muffled sounds still reached Kakashi's ears and sent a rush of pleasure down his spine. Those soft, whispery noises were far more alluring than anything Kakashi had ever heard before. Not only could he hear Iruka's stifled moans, but also the teacher's gasps for breath.

Mismatched eyes raked down his lover's muscular figure, mapping out every minute change he could see and feel as his fingers left the young man's waist in order to touch every inch of him. Kakashi audibly gulped as his touch and gaze brushed across the brunet's erection. Iruka bucked at the feather-light caress, releasing a soft cry that caused heat to pool in Kakashi's lower body.

Kakashi could only groan as his fingers slipped around the teacher's arousal, loosely gripping him as he matched the movement of his hand to that of their hips. It took every ounce of control he had to not tear off the remaining material separating them and sink into Iruka, but the recollection of what happened the last time he had been so forceful cooled his ardor enough that he could think and see straight.

"I-Iruka," he gasped, tearing his gaze away from the younger man's throbbing erection in order to look into his brown eyes. Though clouded by desire, there was still a flicker of confusion in those dark depths as the teacher looked down at him, waiting for him to continue speaking. "I want…" Swallowing heavily, he prepared himself to say something he had never uttered before, having never fully understood its meaning until this moment. "I want to make love to you."

He was not asking for just sex like their one night together over a year ago. Though he cared deeply for Iruka even then, he had still kept a part of himself tightly locked away. Now he had nothing to hide from the brunet on top of him and, even if he did, he would want Iruka to know about it. The realization that he wanted that deep of a connection with the teacher – that he wanted the emotional and mental relationships just as much as the physical, if not more – was one that floored the silver-haired man momentarily.

"B-But… your injuries!" Though his words were soft, there was a firm tone to the brunet's voice that reminded Kakashi who he was talking to. Iruka was a stubborn man who was quite accustomed to being in command and getting his way, whether it was in reference to pre-genin classes or the entire shinobi community when they handed in mission reports. "You have a broken leg… and you would pull your stitches."

"I'll be fine," Kakashi tried to reassure him, but saw the resolve in his lover's eyes. He inwardly groaned, not sure how the young man could possibly still be thinking so clearly that he was worried about a few stitches. Kakashi still had half of his clothes on and he could hardly form intelligent thoughts. Pressing his head back against the pillow underneath him, Kakashi took several deep breaths before he came up with a compromise. "You can be on top."

Iruka's answer was a squeak accompanied by a deep blush. Whether or not the teacher realized it, he also sat back on his heels, pressing his groin against Kakashi's, and his hands came to rest on the older man's chest. The combined reaction was enough to make Kakashi gasp.

"I won't move as much that way," Kakashi pointed out breathlessly, hoping his ranting would change the teacher's mind. At this point, he could care less if he tore every stitch and broke his leg a second time. If it meant that he could find release, he would gladly be put back in the hospital afterwards. "And if it hurts, I'll tell you to stop."

Gnawing on his lower lip as he watched the teacher through half-lidded eyes, Kakashi tried to hold back the screams he wanted to let out. He was sure Iruka had no idea that, when he was thinking something over, he had the horrible habit of shifting back and forth - now he knew where Naruto got that strangely endearing habit from. And, if the teacher had any inkling what those minute movements were doing to Kakashi's erection, the silver-haired man would cry. He'd done nothing to deserve this kind of torture.

"Any pain and you'll tell me?" Iruka asked dubiously as he sat back on his heels even further, placing his entire weight on Kakashi's groin. With that increase of pressure, the silver-haired man lost any hopes of forming words, so he just nodded his head frantically as he gritted his teeth. He had never before wanted someone as much as he did at that moment – and Iruka was teasing him!? He was getting the sinking feeling that the teacher had an idea what he was doing to Kakashi's libido when he felt Iruka roll his hips back, momentarily blinding Kakashi with sheer pleasure.

When he finally could see straight again, Kakashi caught a glimpse of the teacher's face and he couldn't help but growl. Iruka was smiling!? Now certain that his lover knew exactly what kind of hell he was putting Kakashi in, the silver-haired man tightened his grasp on Iruka's hips and held the brunet still as he thrust his hips upwards.

Iruka arched his back as a shot of heat raced up his spine at the feeling of Kakashi's clothed member ramming against his entrance. Gasping, the brunet looked down at the silver-haired man and was struck at the pang of emotion that raced through him.

It was as though he was seeing Kakashi for the first time – truly seeing him for who he was. His status as a famous shinobi was gone, leaving him just a normal man. But he was anything but normal. Even without chakra coursing through his large frame, he exuded an aura of danger. Though physically weaker than he had been in years, his muscles still bunched and rippled with strength.

Iruka let his fingers trail along that chest, his touch following the depressions and ridges that mapped out the hard life Kakashi had lived. He was a man who was determined to the point of stubbornness. He was an emotionally guarded person because of his profession, which made him a bit of an ass at times. Iruka smiled, knowing that he could forgive Kakashi of anything because he now knew that the silver-haired man would never intentionally hurt him. No, Kakashi just saw the world a little differently than everyone else and, no matter how twisted and illogical his reasoning, Kakashi always did what he thought was right.

Bending down, the brunet brushed his lips against the largest stretch of dark knots that traveled down the older man's chest. He was gentle enough that he knew he didn't cause Kakashi any pain, but Iruka still felt a twinge of guilt all the same. Shifting, he pressed his lips against Kakashi's, for the moment content to just feel the older man's soft skin against his own.

Kakashi furrowed his eyebrows, wondering what caused the apparent change in Iruka. The soft words, ones laced with emotion, that met his ears gave him an idea of what was going through his lover's head.

"I am so sorry," Iruka whispered against Kakashi's lips, wishing there was some way he could go back and change the past. Because of him, Kakashi no longer had his shinobi status – the one thing that was most important to the older man.

Kakashi propped himself up on an elbow, forcing Iruka to sit up so that he could look into the brunet's face. What he found there tore at him. Guilt. There was no other way to describe the painful emotion that filled Iruka's eyes with unshed tears and contorted his beautiful face into one of the most depressing sights Kakashi had ever seen.

Understanding slowly dawned on Kakashi as he brought a hand up to brush his fingers against the teacher's cheek. It wasn't just guilt that caused Iruka to look at him like that. There was also pain in those chocolate orbs. Realizing that he was the one causing Iruka pain – that his choice to remain as he was and not be healed by the teacher was the cause of it – Kakashi had to reconsider his lover's offer. If it meant erasing that pain from Iruka's face, he would do anything.

"Heal me," Kakashi stated quietly as he cupped the teacher's cheek, rubbing his thumb against the lower half of Iruka's scar. Almost as soon as he spoke, Iruka's eyes widened in amazement and disbelief.

"But you don't wan-" Iruka didn't get the chance to finish his statement. Kakashi covered the teacher's mouth with his hand, sufficiently silencing the brunet's response.

"Did anyone ever tell you that you are impossible?" Kakashi asked, the corner of his lips quirking into a crooked smile. "You want to heal me, don't you?" Iruka blinked several times, but the glimmer of confusion did not leave his large eyes. Seeing he would have to explain himself if he ever wanted peace again, Kakashi continued, "I don't want you to feel guilty… I don't want to see you in pain because of me. If healing me will make you feel better, then do it."

The gentle pressure of lips against his palm was enough to tell Kakashi that he had made the right choice in trying to compromise with his lover. Reluctantly removing his hand from Iruka's mouth so that the teacher could speak, Kakashi studied the younger man. The change in Iruka was immediate; the brunet exuded a happiness that proved to be infectious.

"Thank you," Iruka said softly as he bowed forwards to brush his lips against Kakashi's bare forehead. Kakashi was so focused momentarily on that loving gesture that he didn't feel Iruka's fingers begin to dance across his skin. By the time he noticed the teacher's touch, those hands were slipping under his waistband, gently pushing his pants down.

"What happened to healing me?" Kaskashi demanded jokingly as he lifted his hips to help his lover in stripping him. Iruka moved slowly, dragging the wet material across his skin at a torturous pace. Unable to do much else, Kakashi watched as Iruka eased the dark cloth over his encased leg, careful not to move his broken limb or put any pressure on his thigh.

"If you let me heal you, what do you get in return?" Iruka countered as he glanced up, his fingers teasing the side of Kakashi's bare hip. For a moment, the silver-haired man was unable to think of an intelligent response as he realized that there was a distinct seductive quality to his lover's tone and actions.

"You aren't allowed to leave this bed until I say so." It was demanding, non-negotiable, and otherwise entirely like the man who uttered such a statement. Iruka had to laugh at Kakashi's response. Finally removing the older man's pants entirely, the teacher moved back up so that he could kiss Kakashi thoroughly. As he mapped out every inch of his lover's mouth, Iruka let a tendril of chakra brush against Kakashi's leg. It took no more than a thought to seamlessly repair the shattered bone.

Kakashi would have laughed at Iruka's actions had he the breath left in him after the brunet was done kissing him. Only Iruka would have been thoughtful enough to distract him as he repaired his leg. He had heard from friends that having a broken leg healed was by far the most excruciating experience one could live through. There was a moment of blinding pain, but it was nothing like the agony Asuma and the others feared every time they were admitted to the hospital. It took him only a moment to realize that his compassionate lover had to have done something to dull the pain.

Whatever thoughts he had on thanking the teacher for that kindness quickly fled him as Kakashi looked into Iruka's face. Gone were those chocolate eyes, replaced by orbs darker than night itself. Despite the shiver that instinctively ran down his back as that demonic gaze met his, Kakashi knew that he was in no danger. He had seen the eyes of a bloodthirsty creature once before and, having barely survived that experience, he knew that these were not the same. There was a softness that had not been there the last time he had seen those black eyes; if possible, they were caring and understanding.

Iruka smiled as he saw Kakashi's thoughts reflected in his mismatched eyes. Proof that the older man didn't fear him was far more comforting than Iruka ever thought it would be. To know that he was not a monster in his lover's eyes – it was something that Iruka never realized he had been searching for all this time. He had been unconsciously looking for acceptance and, to receive it from the one person he most desperately needed it from, he was understandably grateful.

Kissing the silver-haired man, Iruka let his lover take control. Kakashi's tongue dipped into his mouth, curiously trailing along his newly sharpened teeth. Having done so numerous times over the past few weeks, Iruka had grown accustomed to the pointed fangs and simply accepted them for what they were. Kakashi, on the other hand, mapped out every inch of his altered bite in fascination. The silver-haired man actually found Iruka's razor-sharp teeth positively sexy, but he was not about to tell the teacher that. He first wanted to discover how to bring the most pleasure to his lover before he let Iruka do the same to him.

Curious to see what Iruka would do next in his strange method of healing, Kakashi laid back against the pillows. Whatever Kakashi had been expecting from the teacher, it was not the shifting of Iruka's body as the brunet situated himself between Kakashi's legs. Leaning forwards, he began pressing gentle kisses against the older man's neck and chest.

Kakashi jerked back when he felt a sharp, stabbing pain at the junction between his shoulder and neck. The fact that Iruka's mouth was in that exact same place did not even enter Kakashi's mind until he felt an apologetic tongue run across his stinging flesh. Almost as quickly as the pain hit him, it was gone, replaced by a strange numbness.

Being hailed as a genius, it didn't take Kakashi long to realize what that momentary pain had been due to. "You bit me," he breathed accusingly as he tried to shift in order to glare at his lover. He was not angry at Iruka, just surprised that the young man would have bitten him without warning, but his attempts to get some kind of explanation from Iruka failed. It didn't take longer than the blink of an eye for him to realize that he could hardly move at all.

Almost immediately, his body betrayed him by feeling a wave of fear. It wasn't directed towards Iruka – he could never fear the compassionate man, not after everything they had been through – but was more of a general terror. Loss of movement in someone with as much nerve damage as him almost always meant paralysis. Paralysis was something that not even Tsunade could always heal. Though no longer a shinobi, Kakashi couldn't help thinking like one; if he couldn't move, he could not defend himself or his lover against an attacker. He was even more helpless than he had been upon waking up in the hospital the other day.

Unknowingly, Kakashi revealed his apprehension to Iruka in his quickened heart rate and breathing. Sitting back on his heels, the teacher ran a comforting hand down Kakashi's heavily stitched side.

"Relax, Kakashi."

Those two words, spoken with love and understanding, were enough to slow the man's quivering heart and gasps for air. He trusted Iruka more than anyone else in existence, so it felt natural to put his life in the young man's hands. Whatever Iruka had done to him – whatever he was planning to do – was not important to Kakashi. That realization – that he wholly, completely, and blindly trusted Iruka – was a heady one for the man who had never been able to fully trust anyone before.

"I love you," Kakashi responded softly as he watched Iruka return to pressing gentle kisses down his body. Those words brought a bright smile to Iruka's face, revealing a straight row of sharp teeth that strangely suited the kind-hearted teacher. Iruka continued his caresses, his smile broadening and a telling tinge of pink coming to his cheeks as he heard Kakashi's heart and breathing speed up again. This time, however, it was not out of fear, but something quite different.

It would have been impossible to ignore the seductive swipes of Iruka's tongue against his hip, but a part of Kakashi tried doing so anyway. He tried to remind himself that Iruka was just healing him, but the teacher's next actions proved otherwise.

Swallowing heavily, Iruka stared at his lover's arousal. He knew better than to tell Kakashi what exactly he was doing. It was not an issue of trust, but that telling the silver-haired man would make healing him impossible. Iruka knew that Kakashi's injuries were ones that could not be healed by humans. It had been his demonic chakra that repaired Kakashi's leg. It was a surprise bonus that the dark, unnatural energy also numbed his lover so that Kakashi didn't feel the same degree of pain anyone else would have.

The fact that Kakashi had not balked at him using demonic chakra in the first place told Iruka that he could do what he must to heal his lover. Kakashi trusted him without reservation, so Iruka felt a little guilty at testing that confidence. But if it meant he had to be a little underhanded so that Kakashi's body did not rebel against his attempts to heal him, so be it.

He knew Kakashi wouldn't consciously fight him, but there was no way the man's body would be so accommodating when being overrun with demonic chakra. Without the ability to sense energy like he had once been able to, Kakashi would understandably panic when he was filled with unnatural chakra. It was for that reason he had temporarily paralyzed his lover. All it took was a thin line of chakra placed at the base of his neck. It was too easy when Iruka considered it was the infamous Hatake Kakashi that he'd only had to touch in order to incapacitate him. That thought strengthened Iruka's resolve; Kakashi could not remain as he was. Iruka knew him better than that. For a while, Kakashi would learn to cope with his change in lifestyle, but after that? Without something to keep his mind off what he had given up, the man would eventually sink into a depression that he would have no hope of bringing himself out of. There was no way anyone, not even Iruka, could save him from that fate.

Glancing up momentarily, Iruka focused on the reddened mark at the base of Kakashi's neck. It was another liberty he had taken in the name of healing his lover. As Mizutamari Mari had told him time and time again, the transfer of demonic chakra was simplified by a blood tie. That was, in part, why he and the kappa had settled on an exchange of energy for blood so many years ago, despite the fact it left Iruka weak and nauseous.

The metallic taste rested strangely on his tongue. Mari had said that blood was as distinct as a person's scent or physical features and, having had a taste of Kakashi's, Iruka knew that he would always recognize that particular flavor. His demonic senses, far superior to those of average humans, would be able to pick out Kakashi with ease. It was not only the red fluid that Iruka had lapped up before quickly resealing the small wound. It was Kakashi's heartbeat and his breathing that told Iruka's ears who he was. It was the man's scent, his laugh, his gaze, his touch – it was everything about Kakashi that Iruka had etched into his memory so that he would never again be able to forget the man he loved.

However distasteful it had been to the human side of him to take some of Kakashi's blood, Iruka did so in order to make it easier for his lover. He could remember the first time he'd had a large amount of demonic chakra flood into him without that small saving grace of Mari being able to direct it. It was not an experience Iruka would ever want to repeat. It was that motive that fueled his actions now. He would save Kakashi from that kind of hell.

Paralyzing Kakashi so that the man didn't fight back and thus hurt himself even more, taking a little of his blood, and now, distracting him – they were all means of protecting Kakashi. Swallowing again, Iruka decided on his course of action.

Without warning, Iruka gripped the base of Kakashi's member, eliciting a strangled whimper from his lover. Shifting so that he hovered over Kakashi's groin, he stuck out his tongue and hesitantly licked the purplish tip. Rewarded with a sound that could only be called a muffled scream, Iruka repeated the action, finding that he liked the slightly bitter taste he was met with.

Kakashi gritted his teeth, unable to do anything else as Iruka continued his painfully slow exploration of his cock. If he could move his arms and legs, Iruka would have already been on his back and Kakashi would be thrusting into him until they both found release. Instead, he had to settle for panting for air as he futilely tried to move his arms so that he could wind his fingers into Iruka's long hair and direct his lover's mouth. Oh hell, he would fuck Iruka's mouth in blissful abandon if he could.

Becoming bolder by the moment, Iruka wrapped his lips around Kakashi's member and gradually lowered his head down. Tracing the throbbing vein in the underside of his lover's erection, Iruka took as much of Kakashi's length in his mouth as he could without gagging.

Slowly bobbing his head, running his tongue along his lover's hardness, Iruka knew Kakashi to be more than distracted enough for what he wanted to do. Continuing his movements, Iruka let his dark chakra seep into his lover. Seeking out the blood whose taste he already knew so well, he was able to find every chakra pathway that ran alongside blood vessels, no matter how minute. As he increased the flow of chakra into Kakashi, Iruka sought out each wound, creating a pool of energy that would heal the man's injuries without Iruka's direction.

It was slow, meticulous work, but Iruka was still amazed at how easy the whole process was. Not once did Kakashi's body try to rebel and fight off his chakra. Iruka pulled away from his lover when he finally realized why Kakashi wasn't asking why he was being filled with demonic chakra. It wasn't that the man was so distracted that he didn't notice the energy; it was that Kakashi had lost all ability to sense chakra. It was a fact Iruka could not wrap his head around, so it was one he had not taken into consideration earlier.

Iruka looked up at Kakashi and a wave of self-reproach hit him when he saw his lover. Eyes on the brink of tears from frustration stared back at him, silently asking him why he had stopped. The realization that Kakashi had no idea what he was doing internally made Iruka's actions seem so much more reprehensible to the teacher.

"Undo whatever it is you did to me, Iruka," Kakashi begged softly, his voice weak with unfulfilled need. The question did not even have time to be processed in Iruka's mind before the silver-haired man found his arms and legs freed from their induced paralysis. As soon as he regained the ability to move, Kakashi did exactly what he had wanted to do since he first saw Iruka go down on him.

Sitting up, he captured Iruka's face between his hands and plundered the teacher's mouth until they had to break apart for air. Not giving his lover a moment's reprieve, Kakashi pulled the brunet against him, forcing the teacher to straddle his waist. The feel of Iruka pressed against him, the young man's rigid member jutting against his abdomen, was enough to dissolve what little self-control Kakashi had left. Instinctively shifting his own position, the silver-haired man groaned as his erection brushed against his lover's entrance.

Kakashi glanced up into his lover's eyes, expecting to see a host of emotions that would show Iruka was reluctant to resume their sexual relationship. He was stunned to the point of breathlessness when he saw what those eyes truly held.

Passion. Need. Desire. They were there in abundance and there was also the blush of embarrassment that made Iruka the adorable man that he was, but there was something that blindsided him. Love – there was no other way he could describe the warmth that Iruka's eyes were filled with, what made those impossibly dark orbs shimmer with a wetness that did not seem to match the rest of the man's inhuman features. And with that obvious love was a trust that Kakashi finally understood the depth of, and now could only wonder how he could have possibly lived without it for so long.

No words needed to be spoken as Iruka pushed his hips down, slowly impaling himself on his lover's well-lubricated member. Kakashi could only lean back on his elbows as he gritted his teeth, fighting against the urge to speed up their pace, to take Iruka with all the passion he felt towards the young man. He would not hurt his lover again, no matter how much his body cried for him to take control. They had the rest of their lives together for Kakashi to teach Iruka that pleasure took many forms. Slow and gentle, or rushed, on the brink of pain – there were countless ways to show Iruka the depth of his feelings for him.

Iruka let out a soft gasp as he sat back, taking every inch of his lover inside him. It was nothing like their one night together last year. There was no pain, no immediate soreness, though Iruka had the feeling that in the future his backside would be aching quite often if Kakashi always got his way. It was a pain the brunet looked forward to.

He could feel his body stretching to accommodate the silver-haired man and, within a few minutes of slow rocking, even that mild discomfort was gone, replaced with a deep satisfaction that sent shockwaves of heat down the teacher's body. That gentle, almost peaceful mixture of sensations was quickly torn to pieces as the man underneath him shifted for the first time. That minute change in angle as Iruka lowered himself down filled the brunet with indescribable pleasure.

Falling forwards, no longer able to fully command his body, Iruka somehow caught himself before he landed heavily on his lover. That momentary control quickly disappeared as Kakashi moved again and Iruka was blinded with another jolt of sensation. Crying out softly, he instinctively pressed against Kakashi's throbbing member and was rewarded with the hoarse cry that escaped from between his lover's clenched teeth.

Kakashi's large, powerful, yet gentle hands wrapped around Iruka's narrow hips, guiding the inexperienced teacher in a slow, sensuous rhythm that sent Iruka's head spinning. The silver-haired man pushed himself up, brushing his lips against Iruka's in a loving gesture that quickly turned into a mating of tongues intermixed with gentle nips and swallowed groans.

Feeling Iruka grow accustomed to their matched thrusts, Kakashi let his grip on his lover's sides loosen and one hand slid to the young man's member. Circling his long fingers around Iruka's otherwise untouched erection, Kakashi easily matched their slow pace. Running his other hand along every inch of his lover's tanned skin, Kakashi could feel the tightly corded muscles trembling with desire. Any intentions of slowly bringing his lover to the brink of insanity quickly fled Kakashi's mind when he felt a change in Iruka. His movements became more urgent, his breath now came in strangled gasps, and his fingers clutched the sheets as though they were the only thing keeping him anchored to the ground. A part of the silver-haired man was amazed to realize that Iruka was getting close to coming.

Kakashi had endurance that could be considered worthy of a marathon when it came to sex. It was no wonder his lovers had always been cut from the same cloth, taking hours at a time to find release. To fall in love with a man who needed little more than a few touches to come was ironic, but Kakashi would have it no other way. Tightening his grip around Iruka's member, he looked up into his lover's eyes. The man was not surprised to be met with black orbs that were filled with a multitude of readable emotions.

What Kakashi _was_ surprised by was the wave of heat that burned through him with that single glance. He didn't know how to describe that sensation, but it was strangely familiar. It took Kakashi an embarrassingly long period of time to realize that the feeling was recognizable because it was similar to when he was channeling chakra.

That momentary familiarity quickly disappeared as the warmth spreading throughout his body seared him. Expecting pain – having burnt his chakra pathways more than once in his lifetime – Kakashi was once again stunned when there was no agony. No, this wave of heat was not painful in the sense he had been expecting. It was beyond anything he had ever felt before. If he had to liken it to anything, Kakashi would have called it pleasure, but it was much more than that.

Looking back into his lover's eyes, Kakashi didn't ask what was happening to him now. Whatever it was, he knew it was somehow Iruka's doing and, that being the case, it was nothing that was going to hurt him. Closing his eyes, he surrendered to those sensations, matching Iruka's quick thrusts with his own, only to be rewarded with another wave of that unnamed feeling. As passion overtook their rhythm, every nerve ending seemed to be on fire with that pleasure-like feeling, escalating out of control.

Unable to do anything else, Kakashi clung to his lover, desperately gasping for air, but without any luck. His very lungs refused to cooperate with him, filling not with necessary air, but a burning, warm sensation. That same heat filled every sense. He could taste it on every inch of sweat-covered, bronze skin that he pressed his lips against. He could smell the electric-like aroma and hear the sharp crackling of it in the air. It rolled across his skin like a thick fog. As he tilted his head back to look at his lover – to find out if Iruka was experiencing this same thing – he could see that same heat on his lover's skin. It permeated every inch of the teacher, making the young man glisten ethereally. That momentary glance sent Kakashi's head spinning – in that moment, he knew that he had truly _seen_ Iruka for the first time.

He could not control the surge of possessiveness that hit him as he looked upon his beautiful lover; Kakashi slammed into Iruka as he tightened his grip around the teacher's erection. Rewarded with another wave of mind-blowing heat that scorched every inch of him, Kakashi could only cry out hoarsely. It took no more than a few thrusts for him to feel his own release coming.

Too overtaken by the sensations stampeding through him, Kakashi didn't wonder why he was so close. A part of him already knew why – it was because of the brunet he was buried deep inside. It was because of the young man who arched his back, crying out Kakashi's name. It was the teacher whose entire body tightened around him as Kakashi felt the rigid flesh in his hand throb powerfully, and a wave of blinding heat hit his abdomen. Most of all, though, it was because of his lover – and the words that escaped Iruka's swollen lips – that made him lose his last bit of control.

"I-I love you, Kakashi."

It could have been a scream, a sob, or a whisper – it didn't matter to Kakashi as he felt the world around him disappear. No matter the decibel, it was that phrase that sent him over the edge as he exploded inside his lover. He knew he cried out as he filled Iruka with his seed, but other than that, Kakashi knew nothing of what happened around him for some time. Within moments of his climax, Kakashi fell into darkness.

When he finally came to, the silver-haired man was immediately aware of a warm pressure on top of him. It was heavy, but there was something impossibly comforting about it. If he could have moved his arms, he would have wrapped them around the weight on his chest, but he did not have the strength to pick them up. Unlike earlier when Iruka paralyzed him, Kakashi knew not to worry about this inability to move. This time, he could feel his muscles trembling with fatigue and the attempts to lift his limbs, but they fell heavily back onto the soft mattress beneath him.

"You're awake." The voice was soft, like a caress, and the words were not a question, but a statement. It took Kakashi a moment to recognize that sweet voice in his sex-induced stupor. Finally finding enough strength to move, he threw his arms around the young man resting on top of him, loosely clinging to his lover.

A warm, wet pressure touched his temple and Kakashi didn't have to even think about it to know that it was his lover's lips against his skin. Those lips continued moving down, brushing against his right cheek, then along his jaw. They then moved to the scarred side of his face, pressing against every inch of skin. Unable to help himself, Kakashi smiled at Iruka's loving gesture.

"H-How long… have I been out?" Kakashi asked thickly, his tongue still uncooperative as he slowly recovered from his mind-altering orgasm. Expecting an answer in the range of a few minutes, Kakashi was understandably amazed when he heard the self-satisfied ring of Iruka's response.

"Several hours. I slept for a little while too," Iruka said, his lips still pressed against Kakashi's skin. The teacher then pushed himself up so that Kakashi could focus on his lover's face. There was a tell-tale tinge of scarlet across those scarred cheeks, but at the moment, Kakashi was too tired to make fun of Iruka for his innocence. Instead, he weakly brought a hand up to brush his thumb along the teacher's cheek.

"What _was _that?" Kakashi questioned. His tone was without blame or anger – he, in fact, was so amazed at those sensations Iruka had awoken in him, he could care less what Iruka had done to achieve it. He was asking simply for curiosity's sake.

Expecting a flush of color across his lover's cheeks and a stammered, embarrassed answer, Kakashi was surprised to see a glimmer of apologetic tears. "I-I'm sorry," Iruka started to stammer, but was momentarily silenced with a look from his lover. Bowing his head, Iruka explained what had probably happened. "I had started healing you… but then you and I… and…"

Erupting in a startling shade of crimson, Iruka fell silent, unable to put his speculations into words. Glancing up at Kakashi for a moment, he winced, hoping the older man could forgive him for losing control. He had not meant to leave that excess of demonic chakra inside his lover, especially not for so long – or during such an experience. As his own energy had flared during their lovemaking, so had the reserves he had placed in the silver-haired man. It did not take very long for Iruka to realize why Kakashi had seemed so surprised – and so exhausted – by their activities. It was because the man had never experienced something like that before.

Kakashi remained silent, waiting for Iruka to get over his bout of embarrassment before he continued. Instead, he watched his lover's face and was amazed by the sheer number of emotions that raced over it as the teacher tried to find the right words.

"D-Demons feel things a little differently than humans. I've gotten used to my heightened senses when channeling demonic chakra… but when I… and…"

Kakashi had to bite his cheek to keep himself from laughing at Iruka's discomfort. To save his lover from complete mortification, the genius filled in the blanks. "You were channeling demonic chakra to heal me, but then you got aroused and lost control of your lust." The man smiled, having now figured out why Iruka had switched so quickly from healing him to giving him the best blowjob of his life. Pressing his lips against Iruka's forehead, he let out a little chuckle. "That isn't anything you have to apologize for."

"There's more…" Iruka said softly as he glanced down at Kakashi's chest. Wincing, he felt another blush coming on as he sensed the older man follow his gaze. The sharp intake of breath that came out of Kakashi was enough for the teacher to bow his head in shame. Losing control of his passion was one thing, but to do so when he had already filled Kakashi with demonic chakra – that was the mistake he had been trying to apologize for.

"Most people take stitches _out_ before they heal an injury," Kakashi said jokingly as he brought his fingers up to brush against the neatly tied knots that covered his upper body. Unlike earlier, however, they no longer followed deep lacerations. No, now his skin was completely healed. It didn't even hold the slight discoloring of a scar. It was as though the injuries had never even existed, though Kakashi shouldn't have been surprised by the teacher's healing abilities.

"That isn't all…" Iruka whispered as he looked up at his lover's face. His cheeks warmed as he looked at the handsome man he was sitting on. Bringing a hand up to Kakashi's left cheek, he ran his thumb along the man's flawless skin.

The silver-haired man's eyes widened at Iruka's gesture, obviously feeling the difference from the surprise in his mismatched eyes. One of his hands flew up to his face, gingerly touching the area where he once had disfiguring scars. Gone were the depressions he had received from his fight with Iruka, but his skin felt different. It was too smooth – too even. As Kakashi ran the tips of his fingers below his left eye, he began understanding Iruka's apologies.

There was no scar covering his unnatural eye – no mark to tell his famed past. Kakashi could tell he still had the Sharingan, but he could not tell how he knew that exactly. Instead of wondering over that, he began inspecting his body for his old scars. The uneven bones due to breaks from his many fights with Gai were gone, replaced by perfectly-formed limbs and ribs. The numerous scars on his fingertips from years of summoning Pakkun and the others had disappeared. No longer did he have the deep depressions from the countless kunai, shuriken, and other weapons that had hit him over the years.

As he looked at Iruka, Kakashi knew his expression was one that demanded an explanation, no matter how uncomfortable it would make his lover.

"To heal you, I was channeling demonic chakra through you, but you couldn't feel it… but then I lost control… so when we were, um, together, the energy I had left in you went haywire. So it healed everything it could find wrong with you – it didn't heal your eye, making you lose the Sharingan, because it must have seen your eye as an improvement…" Iruka trailed off as his gaze met Kakashi's. Expecting to find anger and perhaps mistrust, the teacher was amazed when he saw that neither of those things had a place in Kakashi's face. No, the only thing he could find there was love.

"Did you think I would be mad you healed all my old scars?" Kakashi asked softly as he brushed a finger against Iruka's cheek. The brunet did not have to answer – the watery eyes were enough of an indicator. "If you had asked me if you could heal them, I would have told you yes. Some of them hurt like hell whenever the weather changed." The soft, joking tone of Kakashi's voice was enough to make Iruka smile.

"What I want to know is what had been going on when we were making love. At one point, you looked like you were glowing…"

"Oh… that…" Iruka bit his lower lip in a cute display of nervousness. Kakashi had to laugh at the adorable picture of innocence Iruka was when the teacher was forced to talk about sex. Unable to help himself, the silver-haired man brushed his lips against the brunet's nose. "I told you… demons feel things differently than humans. Well, they _experience_ things differently, actually. As far as I can figure, since I had filled you with my chakra, some of what I was experiencing was transferred to you."

Kakashi felt his jaw begin to drop as he understood the implication of Iruka's words. "T-that was what it was like for you?!" The very idea that every time he made love to the teacher, Iruka would be feeling such sensations was enough to make the pervert excited for their next interlude.

"O-only when I'm more demonic, I think," Iruka whispered as he tried to ignore the warmth creeping up the back of his neck and across his cheeks. To have his perverse lover know that he had climaxed was one thing – to experience what it had been like was another thing entirely. Iruka had the feeling that Kakashi would use that knowledge to his advantage for some time. The next words out of his lover's mouth made him certain of that.

"We will have to test that theory."

"Pervert," was Iruka's only verbal response, but he quickly acquiesced to his lover's unspoken demands. And, keeping to their compromise, Kakashi did not let Iruka leave their bed until he was completely certain Iruka's assumptions were right. In turn, the teacher could only inwardly laugh and wonder how long it would take his beloved to realize that it was not just his physical injuries that had been healed. Chakra pathways had been reformed, neural problems solved – even his emotional difficulties had somehow been healed by their lovemaking, though Iruka had the feeling that that particular change had nothing to do with demonic chakra.

As it turned out, the two men took a well-deserved vacation before returning to the shinobi life that had molded them into who they were.

--

Authoress: Finally done! *cries from sheer happiness* I apologize for how long it has taken me to write the epilogue…but I hit the worst writer's block of my career as a FFN writer…and nothing could get me to finish this! But, having put off schoolwork and forcing myself to be as perverse as I could, I have finally finished!

B.Z.: Well, I'm proud of you for finishing it. Good job. Though I still look forward to updates from your other stories... You were only a few chapters in with those ones, afterall... Good luck with your thesis, btw. I was lucky. I got to do a portfolio instead of a thesis. I suppose it all depends on the course...

Authoress: Yeah…thesis…*cries* I gotta write it to graduate – it is going to get in the way of my writing fanfics, but I will strive to set aside time to put up those new stories I have in mind!!! A huge thanks goes to B.Z.-chan for beta-ing this chapter! She does amazing work!!! And thank all of you for reading! I hope everyone enjoyed the Scars Series!! Please review and look out for new stories! Until then, ja ne!!


End file.
